Arizona Western College celebrates largest commencement in school history

More than 3,200 degrees and occupational certificates were handed out at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday night, giving Arizona Western College the largest commencement in its history and putting a hard number behind Yuma County’s growing higher-education pipeline. The ceremony drew graduates from AWC along with students from the local branches of Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, all under one stadium light next to Gila Ridge High School.

The scale matters well beyond the ceremony itself. AWC said many graduates earned more than one certificate or degree, and the class included local high school students who completed associate degrees through the college’s Dual Credit and Early College pathway. That mix of credentials points to a regional system that is producing workers ready to enter jobs quickly, while also moving students toward transfer degrees and four-year completion.

AWC President Dr. Daniel Corr said the milestone reflects the “growing momentum of college-going culture” in the region. For Yuma County, that momentum is measured not only in caps and gowns, but in the training pipeline feeding local employers in health care, education, agriculture and the trades, where demand for homegrown workers remains high.

The commencement also carried a clear local identity through its student speaker. Jeff Kleinwachter, a Yuma native and Gila Ridge High School alumnus, served eight years in the U.S. Army, earned the Meritorious Service Medal, and graduated with an associate degree in business and a certificate in organizational leadership. He plans to transfer to Northern Arizona University to pursue a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management, a path that shows how AWC can launch veterans and working adults into the next stage of their education and careers without leaving the region first.

The numbers behind this year’s ceremony also show how quickly AWC has scaled up. The college honored more than 2,500 graduates in 2025, and in 2023 it said it had issued over 2,000 degrees and occupational certificates. AWC also held its first fall commencement in December 2025, signaling more opportunities for students to finish on their own timeline.

That growth carries economic weight. AWC’s Lightcast study said the college added nearly $319.2 million to the income of Yuma and La Paz counties in fiscal year 2023-24, underscoring the role the college plays in the local labor market. With Dr. Reetika Dhawan set to become the college’s 10th president and first woman president in July 2026, the record class arrives at a moment when AWC is expanding both its reach and its responsibility to keep more graduates rooted in Yuma County.