Media Contacts:
Libby Siebens, community relations executive director, 509-682-6436 (Mon. – Thurs.)
Laura Singletary, student programs director, 509-682-6860 (Wenatchee campus)
Cindie Martin, secretary supervisor, 509-422-7807 (Omak campus)

Wenatchee Valley College commencement ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, June 15, for the Wenatchee campus and Saturday, June 16, for the Omak campus. Nurses pinnings for both Wenatchee and Omak campuses are Friday, June 15, in Wenatchee.

The nurses pinning for completion of the registered nursing certificate and associate degrees of nursing for both campuses will take place at 1 p.m. on Friday at the Wenatchee High School auditorium, 1101 Millerdale Ave. Light refreshments will be served after the ceremony.

The Wenatchee commencement ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday at Apple Bowl Stadium, 1005 Orondo Ave. The Omak campus commencement will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Omak Performing Arts Center.

Richard Brinkman will give the Wenatchee commencement keynote address. Brinkman is currently a sociology professor at WVC and has taught sociology at the college or university level since 1992. Prior to teaching full-time at WVC, Brinkman served the cities of Aberdeen, Wenatchee, and Leavenworth, the latter as city administrator. He received his bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Oregon and his master’s in sociology from Iowa State University. Brinkman has served many years with charitable organizations including The United Way and Red Cross, and performed comedy magic for many years benefitting such causes. He served in the United States Peace Corps from 1990-92 in Central America. Brinkman went on sabbatical in 2015 to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT – Mexico to Canada) and is collaborating with Marshall University professor Dr. Kristi Fondren on the study of long-distance hiking subcultures. 

Laurie Arnold is the guest speaker for the Omak ceremony. Arnold is an enrolled member of the Sinixt Band of the Colville Confederated Tribes. She is the daughter of Walt and Marge Arnold and grew up in Keller, Wash. She is the Director of Native American Studies at Gonzaga University and has previously held positions at the D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the Newberry Library in Chicago and at the University of Notre Dame. Her first book, “Bartering with the Bones of Their Dead: The Colville Confederated Tribes and Termination,” was published by the University of Washington Press in 2012. She has a doctorate in history from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s in history from Oregon State University.

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Wenatchee Valley College enriches North Central Washington by serving educational and cultural needs of communities and residents throughout the service area. The college provides high-quality transfer, liberal arts, professional/technical, basic skills and continuing education for students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Visit our website, wvc.edu.