{"id":18868,"date":"2013-05-14T10:59:38","date_gmt":"2013-05-14T17:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stage.headlessnauedu-b6hgdzckfdgxgzhe.westus-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=18868"},"modified":"2013-05-16T08:58:06","modified_gmt":"2013-05-16T15:58:06","slug":"nau-yavapai-celebrates-first-class-of-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/nau-yavapai-celebrates-first-class-of-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU-Yavapai celebrates first class of graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Arizona University\u2019s regional campus, NAU-Yavapai<\/a>, celebrates a proud milestone this May: its first graduating class.<\/p>\n

The 14 members of the Class of 2013 will don caps and gowns to mark the special occasion with a hometown ceremony May 31 at the Wyndham Garden Inn in Prescott Valley.<\/p>\n

The seniors received their diplomas during the Extended Campuses spring commencement<\/a> ceremony in Flagstaff.<\/p>\n

Since opening its doors in the fall of 2010, NAU-Yavapai\u2019s innovative programming and community feel has attracted a diverse group of students looking for quality education at an affordable cost.<\/p>\n

The campus\u2019 year-round calendar and structured degree plan allows students to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in three years, saving more than $20,000 in tuition compared to other four-year degree programs in the state.\u00a0Students have a choice of four degrees: Entrepreneurship, Service Industry Management, Community Development and Sustainability and Applied Human Behavior.<\/p>\n

Alexander Maynard<\/strong>, who received his B.A. in Entrepreneurship, praised the school\u2019s innovative approach to learning, particularly the hybrid-learning format that pairs online activities with face-to-face classroom instruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith advances in technology, hybrid learning is an interactive method that fits a variety of individual needs and makes use of valuable time and resources,\u201d Maynard said. \u201cIt was especially helpful in allowing me to effectively manage my school and work schedules.\u201d<\/p>\n

While NAU-Yavapai\u2019s affordability was a big draw for the 25-year-old, who graduated without any student debt, its sense of community is what resonates most for the budding entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy experience here has been life-changing. My introduction to members of the community has led to mentorship, scholarship and internship opportunities. Without these relationships and their investment in me, I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today.”<\/p>\n

Susan Johnstad<\/strong>, assistant vice president and campus executive officer for NAU-Yavapai, echoed Maynard’s sentiments, noting the strong collaboration between professors, staff and students.<\/p>\n

“Everyone played a part in pioneering this educational model,\u201d said Johnstad. “Our graduates will go forth with the problem solving, communications, project management and other critical workplace skills needed to succeed and make a difference in the region and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maynard, who recently completed a legislative internship with Andy Tobin, speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, is excited to utilize the skills aquired at NAU-Yavapai. He hopes to launch a venture that will address community needs and improve the quality of life for residents in the Prescott region.<\/p>\n

As for the Yavapai campus, he sees a bright future ahead with a bustling campus filled with Arizona\u2019s brightest. \u201cThis is a place where students can discuss ideas, achieve their goals and above all else, grow as individuals. Everyone is invested in each other as we grow, as the campus grows.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Northern Arizona University\u2019s regional campus, NAU-Yavapai, celebrates a proud milestone this May: its first graduating class. The 14 members of the Class of 2013 will don caps and gowns to mark the special occasion with a hometown ceremony May 31 at the Wyndham Garden Inn in Prescott Valley. The seniors received their diplomas during the…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":18871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[303,74,302,304],"class_list":["post-18868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-extended-campuses","tag-graduation","tag-nau-yavapai","tag-prescott-valley"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}