Graduation set for Friday, May 13

Cloud County Community College commencement activities are scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, May 13 in Arley Bryant Gymnasium on the Concordia campus. The event will recognize 275 graduates from the Concordia and Geary County campuses and outreach locations. This is a change from previous years when the ceremony began at 7 p.m.

All graduates participating in the ceremony were provided four guest tickets. For those who do not have a ticket, they can watch the ceremony, which will be streamed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCiWr71vnEGWLZtEMFVh4iQ.

The link will be available on the college website’s main page, and on social media.

Graduates and their guests are invited to a reception prior to commencement in the T-Bird Café on the Concordia campus from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Friday.

The nurses’ pinning ceremony will be at 2 p.m. in the gymnasium. Seating will not be limited for the pinning, but for those who cannot attend, the event will also be streamed on YouTube. The link will be available on the college’s website and social media pages. It will also be on the Nursing Department’s Facebook page (Cloud County Community College Nursing Program).

The Distinguished Alumni Award of the Year will be presented to Dr. Keir Swisher, a 1999 graduate of Cloud County.

Swisher was a two-year member of the T-Bird men’s basketball team. After graduation from Cloud, he attended Bethany College, where he continued his basketball career, and also played football. He then attended medical school at Kansas City University, where he graduated in 2006. He did his residency work in Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.

He currently works at Salina Regional Health Center in Salina, where he is the Co-Medical Director of the Emergency Department. He is also a clinical associate professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Salina.

Keir and his wife Ashley own “The Farm and the Odd Fellows,” in downtown Minneapolis, which features multiple businesses – The Bean, The Pickle, The Seed, and The Hops – brought to life through the inspiration of building community. The Bean is a coffee café that supports employing local youth, allowing them to become aspiring entrepreneurs who can form relationships and create memorable experiences. The Pickle is a unique space for groups to gather to participate in an activity of their own liking, including pickle ball, and The Seed is an entertainment space for rental. The Hops just opened in April 2022, and is a microbrewery with a tap room that features a self-pour tap wall.

Keir’s wife Ashley owns All Smiles Dental Care in Minneapolis, and the couple has two sons, Madex and Rowen, and a dog, Rocky.

The student speaker will be Savian Edwards, Concordia campus Student Senate president.