Commencement exercises at Northwest College are scheduled for Saturday, May 13, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in Cabre Gym. The ceremony will be live streamed on the NWC Facebook Page and YouTube, or viewers can watch directly from the college website at nwc.edu.
Parking east of Cabre Gym is limited this year due to the large construction project on campus. Overflow parking is designated for the residence hall lots north of Cabre. Handicapped parking will be available on the north side of Cabre Gym with entry through the north entrance (by the Art department). Parking attendants will be on site before commencement to direct traffic as needed.
This year’s guest speakers include Dr. Walt Jatkowski III (2023 Distinguished Faculty award winner), Mrs. Candy Vyvey Moulton (2023 Distinguished Alumna), and Mrs. Shelby Moore (Student).
Dr. Walt Jatkowski III
Jatkowski is Associate Professor of Political Science and has been a member of the Northwest College faculty since 2014. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Bradley University in 2006, and both his master’s and Ph.D. in political science and government from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 and ’12 respectively. Jatkowski is known to be engaging, energetic and passionate in the classroom, and his students have noted his dedication to them. His expectations and standards are high, but they have also brought out the best in those he teaches.
Jatkowski’s tireless efforts go beyond his normal duties. He has offered night or weekend study sessions, met with students on a Sunday so they could take an exam, or been happy to drive international students to the airport. He also agreed to teach a Political Science 1000 course in the outdoor education block schedule and a Statistics class when the math department needed additional help. Most recently, he has helped his division by teaching the Social Science Research Methods and Intro to International Relations classes.
Under Jatkowski’s leadership, a student Politics Club was started, which sponsored several events during the 2020 Presidential Election, hosted viewing parties for primary elections, and co-hosted candidate debates on campus. He has served on nearly every committee on campus, many times as chair, and is recognized for providing a fresh and objective voice.
Ms. Candy Vyvey Moulton
A 1976 graduate of Northwest College, Moulton has written 17 Western history books, co-edited a collection of short fiction and a two-volume encyclopedia, and written and produced several documentary films. She won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America in 2006 for her biography, Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People; another Spur in 2010 for “In Pursuit of a Dream”, the documentary film she wrote and produced with Boston Productions Inc. (BPI) for the Oregon-California Trails Association; and a third Spur in 2023 for her documentary film “The Battle of Red Buttes.”
Moulton began writing for the Saratoga Sun in Saratoga, Wyoming, when she was in high school, which led her to study journalism at Northwest College and the University of Wyoming. While attending college, she edited the Northwest Trail and was News Editor for the UW Branding Iron. She edited the Saratoga Sun for five years and served for 17 years as the editor of the Western Writers of America Roundup Magazine.
Currently Moulton is the Executive Director of the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame and an Executive Producer for BPI. In 2022 she retired from her position as Executive Director of Western Writers of America. She lives near Encampment and is married to Steve Moulton, a 1975 NWCC graduate. They have two children and two granddaughters.
Shelby Moore
Moore is a Powell native and non-traditional student who graduated from Powell High School in 2009 and is a married mother of two daughters living with her family in Burlington. Currently a substitute teacher, she earned an A.A. in Communications in 2012, but returned to Northwest College in 2021 to pursue her Bachelor of Applied Science in Professional Studies. She is now part of the first graduating cohort of the B.A.S. program.
Though she initially planned to use her bachelor's degree in human resources, Moore fell in love with teaching after beginning work this year as a substitute for Bighorn County School District #1. She now plans to continue that career path full-time as a high school teacher. Thanks in large part to the positive experience she had with online education at Northwest College, Moore will begin the pursuit of her master’s in special education this summer through Western Governors University.