CMC Rifle to hold commencement ceremonies on May 2 and 5

Graduates from CMC Rifle will participate in three ceremonies. Two ceremonies will be held on Friday, May 2, while a ceremony for high school concurrent enrollment students will be held on Monday, May 5.

Collegewide, 15 ceremonies total are being held at 11 campuses and additional sites throughout CMC’s 7,500-square-mile district from April 17 through May 5 to celebrate the accomplishments of the college’s graduating class of 2024-25.

CMC Rifle’s general commencement

Heather Grumley, the superintendent of the Garfield Re-2 School District, will give the keynote address at the Rifle campus’s general commencement at 5 p.m. on May 2 in the Clough Auditorium.

Grumley has dedicated over 30 years to the Garfield Re-2 School District, serving as superintendent since April 2020. Her career includes roles as assistant superintendent, principal, instructional coach, sports coach and teacher. Grumley holds a bachelor’s degree in English and literature from the University of Puget Sound, a master’s in elementary education from Colorado College and an educational leadership endorsement from Colorado Mesa University. She plans to retire in June 2025, concluding a distinguished career committed to educational excellence and community engagement.

CMC Rifle’s high school equivalency and adult high school diploma keynote speaker
Cathy Slaymaker, CMC’s adult high school diploma program coordinator, will give the keynote address at the 6:30 p.m. commencement on May 2 at the Clough Auditorium.

From 1978-1989, Slaymaker worked at CMC in information systems technology and management as a programmer, system analyst and director. She was the GED test administrator for CMC and the Department of Corrections at the Rifle prison from 1993 to 2013, when CMC was under contract to provide GED to inmates at the Rifle facility.

Slaymaker began teaching at CMC’s GED classroom in January 2014 and has been at the college since, guiding and graduating hundreds of students. Slaymaker was also pivotal in the launch of CMC’s adult high school diploma program. Slaymaker is a CMC alumna and holds a bachelor’s in organizational leadership from Colorado State University Global.

CMC Rifle concurrent enrollment commencement

On Monday, May 5, at 6 p.m., Alejandro Jaquez-Caro will give the keynote address at the concurrent enrollment commencement. A CMC alumnus, Jaquez-Caro is now an admissions representative at the college, serving students across Western Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. At CMC, he earned an Associate of Science in environmental science and completed a bachelor’s degree in geology at Colorado Mesa University. In 2023, he returned to CMC to help students from diverse backgrounds access higher education.

The Clough Auditorium is at CMC Rifle, 3695 Airport Road, Rifle.

Visit CMC graduations for information about all CMC’s commencement ceremonies.