Pahrump students and graduates earn degrees, honor rolls nationwide
Pahrump students showed up on commencements and dean’s lists from Utah to Pennsylvania, with five local names at Utah Tech alone.
Pahrump’s college footprint stretched across the country this spring, with local students turning up on commencement programs and academic honor rolls in Utah, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. The names tell a broader story about the Nye County pipeline to higher education, one that carries students from Pahrump Valley to campuses far from home and, in some cases, all the way to graduation.
Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah, placed five Pahrump students on the roster for its 115th Commencement ceremonies: Kasen Moore, Samantha Riding, Teyawna Wombaker, Kaden Hastings and Tayla Wombaker. Utah Tech celebrated its 2026 graduating class of 3,078 students at four ceremonies held May 6 and 7 at Burns Arena, and the university said 28% of the class were first-generation graduates. The class ranged from a 15-year-old graduate earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry to a 71-year-old earning a General Studies Certificate, and Utah Tech opened the week with its first Commencement Drone Show in university history.
Utah Tech President Shane B. Smeed said the Class of 2026 is leaving with “knowledge, confidence, hands-on experience, and the ability to solve real-world problems in their communities.” For Pahrump families, that message lands close to home. It reflects the kind of college track that begins in Nye County classrooms and ends with degrees, skills and professional networks that can either return to local use or pull talent farther away.
Farther east, Bryce Odegard of Pahrump graduated from Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. The degree includes in-depth business coursework, practical career training and access to the Camak Core professional development program, with specializations in accounting, general business, management and entrepreneurship, and marketing and sales.
Southern New Hampshire University also posted a long list of Pahrump names on its spring 2026 honor rolls. Holly Vigil, Trisha Duhart and Tristan Coleman earned places on the Dean’s List, while Jonathan Hernandez, Jasmin Minor, Beverly Taylor, Cecilia Lee, Jonathan Wilson and Dylan Wilson made the President’s List. SNHU recognizes full-time students with a GPA of 3.700 or above on the President’s List and 3.500 to 3.699 on the Dean’s List, with full-time status defined as 12 credits.
In California, Gracie Jones of Pahrump was named to the 2026 spring Dean’s List at PennWest California while studying veterinary technology. PennWest requires a minimum 3.40 semester GPA and at least 12 graded credits for Dean’s List recognition, and its spring 2026 California commencement was held May 9 at the Convocation Center. PennWest says its California, Clarion and Edinboro campuses together serve a network of more than 207,000 alumni, a reminder that Pahrump students are entering institutions with far-reaching connections of their own.
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