Carroll College graduates 381 students at 116th commencement in Helena
Carroll College sent 381 graduates into Helena’s workforce Saturday, led by nursing and business majors. The class will feed local hospitals, schools and public-service jobs.
Carroll College sent 381 graduates into Helena’s workforce Saturday, a class heavy in nursing, business and health fields that will soon show up in hospitals, offices, nonprofits and public agencies across Lewis and Clark County.
The 116th commencement ceremony filled Nelson Stadium at 1 p.m., following a Baccalaureate Mass earlier that morning at the Cathedral of Saint Helena. Carroll said the Class of 2026 represents 24 states and three other countries, with 44% of graduates from Montana, 54% from out of state and 2% international. The school’s class profile listed 260 bachelor’s degrees and 21 master’s degrees, with nursing the top bachelor’s major, followed by business, management and marketing.
Miriam Tangen, who earned an anthrozoology degree, used her moment at graduation to remind classmates not to lose sight of the work that brought them there. Her degree is one example of the range of training coming out of Carroll this spring, from technical health care preparation to business and behavioral studies that often translate directly into local hiring pipelines.
That matters in Helena, where a class of this size can affect the staffing pool for St. Peter’s Health, school districts, nonprofits and county offices. Carroll’s fact sheet also listed 34 summa cum laude graduates, 53 magna cum laude graduates and 47 cum laude graduates, a sign that many of the students leaving campus Saturday did so with strong academic records and credentials that can help them move quickly into professional roles.
The college’s ceremony also carried a sense of transition for the institution itself. Dr. Jennifer Glowienka delivered the president’s address and is scheduled to become Carroll’s 20th president on July 1, making her the first woman to hold a fully appointed presidential role in the school’s 116-year history. Dr. Alan Hansen gave the faculty address, and Christopher Jack Conway of Creswell, Oregon, served as the senior speaker for the Class of 2026.
Carroll also honored alumni from the Classes of 1966 and 1976 during commencement weekend and again featured a Native American Honor Song by the Magpie Drummers and Singers, the third year in a row the tradition has opened the ceremony. In a separate milestone on the same day, Carroll ROTC commissioned four cadets as second lieutenants in the Montana State Capitol Rotunda, with two more expected later this summer.
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