The San Juan Center of Skagit Valley College featured five graduates at or under 20 years of age and three near or over 40.

College counselor Sandy Harold, remarked, “These are just the kind of people we want to attract here.”

She pointed out that Skagit College has 10,000 students from 20 countries spread over five campuses in three counties – with students “from 17 years old to 60.”

The atmosphere was proud, friendly and future-oriented as about 70 teachers, friends and family members gathered on a warm and sunny afternoon at the San Juan Center campus June 12 to congratulate and honor Shelby Alger, Mackenzie Brown, Christopher Jones, Melissa Mortenson, Rhys Thompson, Patricia Tullock and Cheyenne Payne. Josef Blanc-Ridings of Lopez missed the ceremony.

San Juan Center Director Randy Martin welcomed everyone warmly before Skagit College President Tom Keegan introduced each graduate with a bit of personal background and an idea of their future goals, reminding them and the audience that it is “the interaction between faculty and students that is the essence of education.”

Alger, an artist, is heading to the University of Washington School of Business; Blanc-Ridings will study environmental science and international business at Fairhaven College at Western Washington University; Brown will study pre-med at WWU; Jones will pursue a degree in Anthropology at UCLA; Mortenson, an honors graduate in multimedia interactive technology will be a freelance designer; Thompson is headed to Linfield College, then to medical school; Tullock, of Orcas Island, will study psychology at Washington State University;  Payne wants to pursue a career as a midwife.