Maria Jimenez considered many career paths as she was growing up.
Everything sounded great to the young Jimenez, from becoming a lawyer to a doctor and even an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ultimately, though, one focus prevailed.
“I just wanted to make my parents proud,” Jimenez said Saturday in a farewell address to her fellow Bears.
Jimenez, a first-generation college graduate and a first-generation Mexican-American from Montrose, graduated from the University of Northern Colorado on Saturday morning with her bachelor of arts in English.
University of Northern Colorado President Andy Feinstein talks to the class of 2025 during the commencement ceremony at the Bank of Colorado Arena on Saturday.(Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)The ceremony marked the second graduation at UNC over the weekend and the first of the day. The graduate ceremony took place Friday evening. Saturday morning’s ceremony was for undergraduates of the college of humanities and social sciences and the Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business.
A University of Northern Colorado graduate reacts after getting her diploma during the spring 2025 commencement ceremony inside the Bank of Colorado Arena on Saturday. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)More than 1,500 students graduated from UNC over the weekend, including 1,173 undergraduates. The college of natural and health sciences, the college of education and behavioral sciences, and the college of performing and visual arts had their ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Mortarboards show a variety of messages during the University of Northern Colorado commencement ceremony at the Bank of Colorado Arena on Saturday.(Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)The college of natural and health sciences graduated 236 students, the largest number of undergraduates. The youngest UNC graduate in the spring 2025 class is 19 years old, and the oldest is 65. The UNC class of 2025 included 60 military veterans and more than 300 students who, like Jimenez, are the first in their families to graduate from college.
A University of Northern Colorado graduate waves to family and friends during the 2025 spring commencement ceremony at the Bank of Colorado Arena. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)Nasim Martin, who left Savannah, Georgia, to study at UNC, also delivered a farewell speech. He graduated with a bachelor of science in business administration: management and marketing.
Before delivering his speech, Martin pulled out his phone to take a selfie.
“I’ll never be in this moment again,” he said.
University of Northern Colorado graduates celebrate near the end of the 2025 spring commencement ceremony at the Bank of Colorado Arena on Saturday. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)Martin told his classmates about how much they overcame during their college careers. From entering college during COVID-19 to the late nights studying in the dimness that is the basement of James A. Michener Library, Martin said they all should be proud of overcoming everything they did to be seated next to each other Saturday morning.
University of Northern Colorado graduates turn their tassels at the end of the 2025 spring commencement ceremony at the Bank of Colorado Arena on Saturday. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)As UNC President Andy Feinstein put it in his remarks to the graduates, “Earning a college degree is no small feat.”
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