Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
Western Nevada College saw its biggest graduating class ever this year, which included the school's first students to earn bachelor's degrees.
The community college had 373 students graduate in its 38th commencement ceremonies Tuesday in Carson City and Monday in Fallon.
The three students who graduated with Bachelor of Technology degrees in construction management wore white hard hats with tassels Tuesday. The students transferred into the four-year program that started two years ago.
Jim Feser, one of the students, has already started his own Carson City construction business, Ridgeline Development. He said the bachelor's degree gave him more business and general education background than a two-year degree would have.
A diversity class, for instance, helped show him how to manage people from different backgrounds, he said.
"You can't just lump everyone into one group and say, 'This is the way we're going to do it,'" said Feser, 29. "You have to be sensitive to other people's needs. I think that's important."
Rebecca Wintz, 25, said she's going to use her associate degree in general studies toward a bachelor's degree.
She said she's not sure yet what she wants to study, but she gained the confidence she needed at WNC.
"This may sound cheesy, but I learned I can pretty much do anything I put my heart and soul into," she said. "Anything I set my mind to, I can do."
Chrystal Ostrander, 22, said she's going to apply for a job at the Carson City Sheriff's Office with her associate degree in criminal justice.
She said she knew after her first class in the subject it was what she wanted to do.
"I think you can help people with it and it's something new and different everyday," she said.
But education doesn't stop at graduation, said Chad McCully, a WNC English professor, in his commencement address.
Students have the responsibility as citizens in democracy to find truth, he said. It won't be easy in nation filled with useless warning labels and oversimplified slogans, he said.
"Be wary of truth that fits on bumper stickers," he said.