Northwestern Fall Commencement set for Dec. 7

December 2, 2025

Wide-angle photograph of Northwestern Oklahoma State University's Fall Commencement ceremony in Percefull Fieldhouse. Graduates in black caps and gowns are seated in rows in the center of the gymnasium floor, with faculty in colorful academic regalia seated in front. Bleachers filled with family and friends surround the ceremony space. Red and black championship banners hang from the ceiling, and Northwestern's Ranger mascot logo is visible on the wall.
A crowd gathers before the Fall 2024 Commencement ceremonies. Fall Commencement ceremonies at Northwestern Oklahoma State University will be Sunday, Dec. 7, at 2:30 p.m. in Percefull Fieldhouse.

ALVA, Okla — Fall commencement at Northwestern Oklahoma State University will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, in Percefull Fieldhouse.

Northwestern Oklahoma State University alumnus Thad Dilbeck will deliver the commencement address. Dilbeck played quarterback and wide receiver for the Ranger football team, playing on two Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (OIC) Champion teams in 1986 and 1989.

As a player for the Rangers, Dilbeck earned OIC Player of the Week along with All Conference and All-Academic Team honors. In addition to his role on the football team, he was also a member of Phi Beta Lambda and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Dilbeck earned two degrees from Northwestern, an educational foundation that has led to a career of over 25 years as a teacher, coach and administrator. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business Administration degree in 1991 and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education degree in 1994. He also served as the head coach for the Northwestern Men’s and Women’s track team in 1995.

A reception honoring the graduates will immediately follow the ceremony in the Student Center Commons area.

Seventy-two students are candidates to receive bachelor’s degrees with 16 graduating with honors. Students with cumulative grade point averages between 3.70 and 3.79 are designated cum laude, those with GPAs between 3.80-3.89 are magna cum laude and those above 3.90 are summa cum laude.

Thirty-one candidates will receive master’s degrees – one will receive a Master of Arts in American Studies, one will receive a Master of Arts in Heritage Tourism and Conservation; four will receive Master of Business Administration degrees; seven will receive Master of Counseling Psychology degrees; and 18 will receive Master of Education degrees.

A live stream of the fall commencement can be found on the Northwestern Athletics YouTube channel: YouTube.com/NWOSURangers.

Master’s graduates, their degrees and their hometowns are as follows:

MASTER OF ARTS IN AMERICAN STUDIES

TEXAS

HIGGINS – Bo Pearson

MASTER OF ARTS IN HERITAGE TOURISM AND CONSERVATION

OKLAHOMA

STILLWATER – Jaden Rose Dillard

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

OKLAHOMA

CHOCTAW – Avery Ruth Clark

NASH – Ella R. Ayers

PONCA CITY – Colton James Bowker

STILLWATER – Douglas Wilson Griffith II

MASTER OF COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

OKLAHOMA

CALUMET – Kaslin Lea Baros

ENID – Katie Combest, Grace Hise

OWASSO – Joseph W. Bickford

WOODWARD – April Dawn Martinez

FLORIDA

BROOKSVILLE – Louis Almand Miele IV

TENNESSEE

NASHVILLE – Felicia Choate

MASTER OF EDUCATION

OKLAHOMA

ALVA – Sara Eckhardt, reading specialist

BARTLESVILLE – Christine A. Goscha, educational leadership

EDMOND – Jordan Iwuchukwu, adult education management and administration

ENID – Wendi Collums, educational leadership; Caitlin Marie Evans, educational leadership

GUTHRIE – Kaylee Nicole Abbott, educational leadership

NORMAN – John Geoffrey Pulliam Canty, adult education management and administration

NORTH ENID – Jesseca Patnode, educational leadership

PONCA CITY – Kim Elaine Scholey, curriculum and instruction

SAPULPA – Jerika Lyn Coon, reading specialist

VICI – Kylan Watkins, school counseling

WAKITA – Rebecca Susan Claflin, reading specialist

CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES – Bryce Mack, adult education management and administration

KANSAS

OLATHE – Mason Myers, adult education management and administration

TEXAS

ARLINGTON – Shaughnessy Kelly, adult education management and administration

LITTLE ELM – Lily Margaret Anderson, adult education management and administration

LUMBERTON – David Gabriel Sonnier, adult education management and administration

SAN ANTONIO – Tamaj Deanthony Gordon, adult education management and administration

Bachelor’s graduates, their degrees and their hometowns, beginning with the honored graduates, are as follows:

SUMMA CUM LAUDE

OKLAHOMA

ALVA – Ko Brooks, Bachelor of Science in biology

BIXBY – Terry Lee Hunt, Bachelor of Business Administration

ENID – John Cloud, Bachelor of Science in computer science

HILLSDALE – Jack McCoy, Bachelor of Science in health and sports science education

THOMAS– John Tyler Jones, Bachelor of Science in health and sports science education

WOODWARD – Kelsy Martinez, Bachelor of Science in computer science

CALIFORNIA

IRVINE – Beck William Wade Moss, Bachelor of Science in health and sports science education

KANSAS

GODDARD – Jason William McCarty, Bachelor of Science in biology

PAOLA – Mikayla White, Bachelor of Science in health and sports science education

MAGNA CUM LAUDE

KANSAS

PRATT – Karolina Arensdorf, Bachelor of Science in Media and Communication

ST. KITTS AND NEVIS

BASSETERRE – Christi-Anne Mills, Bachelor of Science in health and sports science education

CUM LAUDE

OKLAHOMA

BLACKWELL – Collin Prince, Bachelor of Business Administration

ENID – Bailey SuRae Humphries, Bachelor of Science in Education in elementary education; CeCelia Vandiver, Bachelor of Science in biology

MIDWEST CITY – Karsyn Smith, Bachelor of Science in health and sports science education

KANSAS

HOLCOMB – Alexandra Kepley, Bachelor of Science in criminal justice

BACHELOR OF ARTS

OKLAHOMA

ANADARKO – Alfred Timothy Poolaw, sociology

BUFFALO – Mishelle Rios Salinas, general studies

CLEO SPRINGS – Kayleigh Rauch, general studies

ENID – Jesse Nicole Bailey, general studies; Patricia Cassio Lugo, Spanish

WAYNOKA – McKenzie Pitts, general studies

ILLINOIS

CHICAGO – Henry Wilson Jr., general studies

MISSOURI

WARRENSBURG – Kaitlynn Swank, English

NORTH DAKOTA

SOURIS – Tess Mortenson, general studies

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN EDUCATION

OKLAHOMA

ENID – James Carl Dodson, social science

ERICK – Kylee RayAnn North, English

IOWA

MANNING – Mara Kaye Miller, English

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

OKLAHOMA

BUFFALO – Isabel Favela, accounting

ENID – Erin Nicole Hood

FREDERICK – Sarah Perez

MEDFORD – Brack Slater, accounting

PONCA CITY – Jadyn Faye Benton

SEILING – Julisa Mojica Rivas

CALIFORNIA

EASTVALE – Porter Pittman

TEXAS

FLOWER MOUND – Sofia McElroy

FOLLETT – Marshal Blake Howard

SAN ANTONIO – Genesis Nevaeh Rodriguez

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

OKLAHOMA

ALVA – Nathen Cole Hunt, health and sports science education

BERRYHILL – Colby Mitchell, health and sports science education

CHEROKEE – JoEllen Worthington, psychology

CLINTON — Samora Shondella Collins, psychology

ENID – Matthew Bergman, computer science; Willem Kirk Johnson, health and sports science education; Haylee Sellers, psychology

GOLTRY – Colten Hunter Lormand, psychology

LAVERNE – David Israel Guajardo, computer science

NEWKIRK – Blake Conner Johnston, health and sports science education

OKEENE – Kalynn Egleston, psychology

PONCA CITY – John Leslie Hofferber, psychology

TEXHOMA – Taylor Whitfield, psychology

WAYNOKA – Casen Olson, agriculture

ARIZONA

TUCSON – Jacob Reid Wiltshire, computer science

CALIFORNIA

APPLE VALLEY – Tiara Lanai Campbell, biology

COLORADO

DENVER – Terrence Kwesi Nana Marfo, psychology

KANSAS

DODGE CITY – Elizabeth Dorado Barrera, biology

ILLINOIS

MOUNDS – Daniel Lamont Oats Jr., health and sports science education

TEXAS

ALLEN – Maryam Dianka, computer science

HOUSTON – Max C. Garza, health and sports science education

LAREDO – Aaron Medrano Jr., media and communication

JAMAICA

KINGSTON – Crispus Atukwatse, biology

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION

OKLAHOMA

ALVA – Chloe Vonne Bradt, elementary education; Mary Kate Foster, health and sports science education; Mary Aleese Terrel, early childhood education

ENID – Hope Katherine Ellis, elementary education; Kylee Marie Frazee, elementary education

PONCA CITY – Mary Lee Hainzinger, elementary education; Adele Labombard, elementary education

SHATTUCK – Tegan Lynn Jones, elementary education

NEVADA

CARSON CITY – Brianda Diaz, early childhood education

TEXAS

LAREDO – Edgar Lizandro Reyes, elementary education

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING

OKLAHOMA

BROKEN ARROW – Caroline McKinley

-NW-

Media Contact:
Sean J. Doherty, University Relations Specialist
Email: sjdoherty@nwosu.edu
Phone: (580) 327-8480



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