At Bethel’s Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center, commencement began with both the traditional pomp and circumstance and the sound of drums. Elementary school students from Ayaprun Elitnaurvik led the procession of cap-and-gowned graduates into the room packed with friends and family.
Former United States Rep. Mary Akalleq Peltola, the commencement’s guest speaker, began by addressing the crowd of graduates and family, remarking how, aside from babies babbling on laps, the room fell into a captivated quiet.
“It's just such an amazing reflection of our culture that people are listening,” Peltola said. “People listen with their full body.”
Peltola spoke about the importance of bridging a degree in Western education with traditional knowledge.
“The things that I learned in college were very valuable and I use that knowledge. It's critical,” Peltola explained. “But what I realized working for the [Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal] Fish Commission for five years is that traditional knowledge also has to be part of it. The traditional knowledge part is the part that gives me meaning.”
Following Peltola, associate degree student speaker Isabella January of Bethel took the stage, addressing her fellow students in the ANSEP program, which allows high school students to take college courses for dual credit.
“We are the new generation, the students, the leaders, the change makers, and we have the power to redefine success,” January said.
January will graduate from Bethel Regional High School next week, but now also holds an Associate’s degree from the University of Fairbanks, Kuskokwim Campus (KuC). She spoke about the community she experienced in her time at ANSEP.
“We must work towards building a future where people are confident in who they are and what they believe, where success is measured not not just by achievements, but by growth, resilience, and self-acceptance,” January said. “As a proud Inupiat and Yup'ik woman, my grandparents taught me that in times of hardships, we must lean on each other. We carry each other, and I have felt the same sense of community here at KuC.”
Bachelor’s degree student speaker Joseph Trim Nick had the highest GPA in his graduating class. Nick joked that at first it was hard for him to believe, having completed his degree over the course of four decades.
“It definitely has gone along in a winding road with many personal obstacles and a few well intentioned yellow brick roads along the way,” Nick said. “I figured I have a lot, little bit explaining to do on how this happens, as I've always titled things I write about. I do this 'The Miseducation of Trim' in my six-plus decades of life. And yes, that's what it is. I've learned that life itself is one educational journey.”
Nick went on to chronicle his life: growing up in Nunapitchuk, returning to his pursuit of higher education over the course of over 40 years in a life of world travel, work in the Office of Children's Services, and KYUK TV on-air hosting. He said that it’s never too late to return to education.
“To my fellow dropouts who are in similar situations like I was in, if you started college years ago with good intentions, but for one reason or another got derailed or sidetracked or followed another path, it’s never too late,” Nick said. “If I can do it, you can easily do it. Your spirit, the commitment and engagement to follow through and giving it the best that you've got. It's attainable. It's at your fingertips.”
Nick acknowledged what he called his primary teacher, his Russian Orthodox faith. In light of the upcoming glorification of St. Olga, he invited members of the local St. Sophia parish on stage to share a song of worship.
Soon, the calling of names and lift of tassels declared the graduation of ethnobotany occupational endorsements, rural human services and Tribal governance certificates, associate degrees in nursing, human services, science, and arts, baccalaureate degrees in elementary education, social work, and interdisciplinary studies, and one doctorate of philosophy in atmospheric sciences.
And then, just as it began, the class of 2025 was celebrated in Yup’ik fashion with a yuraq performance from Ayaprun Elitnaurvik. With drums filling the space, some graduates stood to dance along in their caps and gowns.
