Ride Along with Reynolds -- June 2025
Ride Along with Reynolds, a series about where the college is heading, who's joining us for the ride, and why it matters for our students and the community.
In this episode of Ride Along With Reynolds, we celebrate the extraordinary class of 2025, honor our nursing students at the Spring Pinning Ceremony, and recognize the people who make Reynolds the incredible place it is - our faculty and staff!
Transcript
Hi, I'm President Paula Pando, inviting you to ride along with Reynolds, a regular update on where the college is heading, who's joining us for the journey, and why it matters for our students and community.
Three cheers for the class of 2025. Hip hip hooray! From late nights to big dreams, our grads poured their hearts into the journey. And their big day finally arrived on May 13th when we honored our remarkable graduates at the 52nd commencement ceremony.
They came to Reynolds with goals, determination, and maybe a bit of uncertainty. Over time, they found their stride in classrooms, in labs, in study groups, and Zoom rooms. They built confidence, gained knowledge, and developed skills that will serve them for a lifetime.
The result? This academic year, we awarded a record-breaking 2,114 credentials to more than 1,473 graduates—an increase of 376 credentials over the prior year, and the highest graduate headcount in over a decade. And that's just on the credit side. Our workforce division, the Community College Workforce Alliance, has awarded an additional 987 industry recognized credentials so far this academic year. With several weeks still to go before we officially close the books on academic year 2024-25, we expect to exceed 3,100 total credentials. Proof that Reynolds is not only educating students, but equipping the region's workforce at scale.
Our graduates reflect the diversity and resilience of our community, ranging in age from 16 to 71, including 283 dual enrollment students earning their college degree while still in high school. We saw families graduate together—parents and children, spouses, even brand new moms walking across the stage with infants in arms. These stories are a powerful reminder: Higher education changes lives across generations.
Of course, workforce readiness continues to be a cornerstone of our mission. More than 370 graduates earned credentials in high demand fields like nursing, automotive technology, welding, respiratory therapy, opticianry, and more. These are not just jobs—they're careers that strengthen our region and keep it moving forward.
And speaking of healthcare careers, just one week before commencement, we celebrated a signature Reynolds tradition, the spring nurse pinning ceremony. It's more than a rite of passage. It's a moment that honors the perseverance, compassion, and commitment of our nursing students as they prepare to serve their communities. It's also a celebration of the incredible faculty who teach, mentor, and walk alongside them every step of the way.
Before we honored our graduates, we took time to celebrate the people who make Reynolds the incredible place that it is—our faculty and staff. At employee appreciation day, we celebrated service milestones, toasted our retirees, and recognized standout colleagues who went the extra mile. It was a joyful day to reflect, recharge, and reconnect with the mission that unites us all.
Milestones like commencement, pinning, and appreciation day remind us Reynolds is more than a college. It's a community, and none of it would be possible without the support, partnership, and belief of so many across this region. Thank you for standing with us and investing in what's possible. See you next time.