The NAU Review — Special commencement, Notes from the President, and NAU Review news

May 12, 2022

NAU is welcoming back 900 alumni this weekend to get their long-awaited, long-delayed opportunity to put on their cap and gown and walk across the stage. The spring and fall classes of 2020 and the spring class of 2021, who had virtual commencement ceremonies during the pandemic, are returning to NAU this weekend for a special celebration.

Graduate Kandice Tanner and her dad grew extremely close after the death of her mother. They were all the other had left, and it was her father who instilled in Tanner at a young age that she would need to stand up and represent Indigenous students at the college level. With the support of her father and friends from the Navajo Nation, Tanner enrolled in Northern Arizona University to study public health and health sciences. Last week, she graduated with her bachelor’s degree. The best part? Her father, Kendall Tanner, was not only there cheering her on, he graduated alongside her with his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and industrial leadership.