85 Bachelor’s Degrees & Over 100 Associate Degrees Given Out at Haskell Graduation

Haskell Indian Nations University 2014 graduation. PHOTO Courtesy: Diane Dubray

There are very few places in this world that can say they truly bring ALL the tribal nations together as one. 

LAWRENCE, KANSAS — Last Friday, May 9, 2014 was a day students worked towards when they entered Haskell Indian Nations University. They celebrated the 2014 Haskell Indian Nations University graduation as eighty five bachelor’s degrees and over 100 associate’s degrees were presented.

Family and friends packed the Coffin Complex as newly named Haskell President Venida Chenault gave the farewell address to the graduates who were dressed in either their graduation robes or their traditional tribal regalia.

Haskell graduate Keith Buster received his Bachelor’s degree in Business and talked about his time as a student at the all Native university:

“Being Native American has helped me realize the uniqueness of Haskell. There are very few places in this world that can say they truly bring ALL the tribal nations together as one. There’s a deeper meaning there that we should all understand.”

Dr. Charles Roessel, director of the federal Bureau of Indian Education was the keynote speaker at the graduation.  When asked how it felt to give the address, he stated he was impressed:

“It was exciting, when I saw all these flags, to actually see all these tribes all these nations, it really is inspiring and uplifting. This is what I see when I see these graduates, seeing that inspiration from within.”

Rhonda LeValdo, Acoma Pueblo, is a current faculty member in Media Communications at Haskell Indian Nations University. She is the most recent past president of the Native American Journalists Association.