Bemidji State, NTC Celebrate Class of 2025 with Commencement Ceremonies

Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College celebrated their 2025 graduating classes on Friday with their annual commencement ceremonies. The Sanford Center hosted two ceremonies for BSU and one for NTC, each of which sent hundreds of students across the stage.

It was a very busy day for BSU’s 105th commencement ceremonies, as over a thousand students made the change from student to alum. And to some, that means so much more than just graduating college.

“Almost half of our students are first-generation college students, meaning that their parents don’t have college degrees,” explained BSU and NTC President John Hoffman. “So they’re introducing this and changing the trajectory of their families forever.”

The 2025 class, which also had the largest number of American Indian graduates that BSU has ever seen, started their journeys during the tail end of the pandemic and have seen countless changes since.

“There’s a real transformation,” says Hoffman. “You engage some of the students and the first time they come in and, you know, sometimes a lot of questions and doubts you can see in their eyes. I love looking in their eyes, shaking their hand as they walk across the stage. There’s a new confidence. There’s a vision, there’s excitement. There’s just a glow in the eye.”

And with such big life changes comes big emotions as well.

“Anxious, excited, and honestly, I’m overwhelmed,” said Indigenous Studies graduate April Miller.

“It’s so fun being able to celebrate this with the community,” said Darby Bersie, 2025 Student Senate President and History graduate. “All my friends, my family, the faculty and staff that helped me on this journey of these past couple of years. So, excited not only for the celebrating the past couple of years, but also excited for the future.”

Now that they are done with their time in college, BSU’s newest alumni are ready to start their career journeys and get out into the community.

“I’m starting my job on the women’s and children’s unit here, so I’m super excited about that,” exclaimed Nursing graduate Macey Gish. “I’ll be able to work with my mom, which is kind of exciting.”

“I want to help people overall,” said Psychology graduate Grace Nyberg. “I’ve always loved helping people and knowing how humans work, like mentally, physically. I really hope to make a difference in people’s lives and just help them continue to get better.”

In total, BSU’s class of 2025 earned 1,065 degrees and certificates, including 80 graduate degrees, and 444 students graduated with academic honors.