EWC announces commencement details and speaker, C.J. Box

C.J. Box, EWC’s 2017 Commencement Speaker

Eastern Wyoming College is pleased to announce that the 68^th annual commencement ceremony will be held on Friday, May 12, 2017, at 7:00 pm in the EWC Fine Arts Auditorium in Torrington, Wyoming.

The commencement ceremony will begin at 7:00 pm with a processional provided by Janet Howard, Pianist.  Mr. Andy Espinoza, Welding and Computer Applications Department Head, will serve as the Director of Ceremonies.

Dr. Richard Patterson, President, will then provide a welcome and introduce special guests.  Ms. Jessica Rossi, EWC Student Senate President, will provide a welcome on behalf of the students.

An address to the graduates will be provided by author C.J. Box.  Mr. Box is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 21 novels including the Joe Pickett series.  He won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel (Blue Heaven, 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, two Barry Awards, and the 2010 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award for fiction.  He was recently awarded the 2016 Western Heritage Award for Literature by the National Cowboy Museum as well as the Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel by the Western Writers of America in 2017.  The novels have been translated into 27 languages.  Open Season, Blue Heaven, Nowhere To Run, and The Highway have been optioned for film and television.  Millions of copies of his novels have been sold in the U.S. and around the world.

In March of 2016, Off The Grid debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Box is a Wyoming native and has worked as a ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide, a small town newspaper reporter and editor, and he owned an international tourism marketing firm with his wife Laurie.  In 2008, Box was awarded the “BIG WYO” Award from the state tourism industry.  An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West.  He served on the Board of Directors for Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo and currently serves on the Wyoming Office of Tourism Board.  They have three daughters and one grandchild.  He and his wife Laurie split their time between their home and ranch in Wyoming.

Following the address by Mr. Box, EWC Foundation President Mr. Todd Peterson will then present the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus Award and an address will be provided by the recipient.

Dr. Michelle Landa, Vice President for Academic Services, will present the candidates for graduation.  Following will be the presentation of degrees and certificates by Mr. John Patrick, President of the Board of Trustees.

A reception for graduates and their families will follow the ceremony in the EWC Cafeteria.

A ceremony will be held to honor the High School Equivalency Certificate graduates on Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 6:00 pm in Tebbet rooms 131-132.

For more information on the Commencement Ceremony at EWC, please call 307.532.8200.

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