Cloud County Community College commencement activities are scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, May 16 in Arley Bryant Gymnasium on the Concordia campus. The event will recognize 221 graduates from the Concordia and Geary County campuses and outreach locations.
For those who cannot attend, the ceremony will be livestreamed on the College’s YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@cloudthunderbirds2386/streams.
The link will be available on the college website’s main page, and on social media.
Graduates and their guests are invited to a reception prior to commencement in the T-Bird Café on the Concordia campus from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Friday.
The nurses’ pinning ceremony will be at 2:30 p.m. in the gymnasium. For those who cannot attend, the event will also be streamed on YouTube. The link will be available on the college’s website and social media pages. It will also be on the Nursing Department’s Facebook page (Cloud County Community College Nursing Program).
The Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award will be presented to members of the Arley Bryant Family – Bill Bryant, Greg Bryant, Brad Bryant, and Jo Bryant Scott.
Arley Bryant was the first Cloud County president, serving in that capacity from the inception of the college in 1965 until 1975. Prior to his retirement, the gymnasium was named Arley Bryant Gymnasium in his honor.
Bill Bryant was a member of the first graduating class of Cloud County in 1967. He then transferred to Bethany College, where he graduated in 1969. He married Rebecca Reeves, a 1969 Cloud graduate, later that summer. Bill entered the U.S. Army later that year, and his service included a tour in Vietnam as a combat medic.
After his discharge from the military, he and Rebecca moved to Topeka, where Bill attended Washburn’s School of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1975. Bill practiced law for several years, but spent most of his career working in the banking industry.
Bill and Rebecca are now retired, and live in Overland Park, Kan. They have three children and nine grandchildren.
Greg Bryant attended Cloud County on a banjo scholarship for the Great Society singing group. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in 1972, and received a Bachelor of Science in English Education from Wichita State University in 1975. He married Susan Walker that year.
After teaching at B&B High School and Robinson Middle School, he earned a Master of Arts in Literature and Creative Writing from Kansas State University in 1982. He worked as a radio copywriter, pre-school caregiver, technical writer, and programmer before returning to teaching at Highland Community College. He and Susan are enjoying busy retirements.
Brad Bryant graduated from Concordia High School in 1972, and from Cloud County in 1974. At Cloud, he participated in tennis, band, choir, and Great Society. He continued his studies at the University of Kansas, earning BA, BS and MA degrees. After eight years as a public school teacher in Glasco and Kingman, he worked in state government at the Secretary of State’s office as state election director for many years. Since retiring from the state in 2015, he has worked for an election services company.
Brad has lived in Silver Lake, Kan., since 1988, where he and his wife Nancy raised four children – Jason, Nikki, Matthew, and Stephanie, who graduated from Cloud County in 2008.
Jo Bryant Scott graduated from Cloud County in 1979. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Fort Hays State University, and a Master’s degree in social work from Washburn University. She worked in social work, marketing and copy editing until she retired earlier this year. She and her husband Eric live in Olathe, Kan., and have a son, Samuel, who graduated from Cloud County in wind energy technology.
The student speaker at graduation will be Adalee Bargdill, Concordia campus Student Senate president. Clare McCain, president of the Upsilon Tau Chapter of PTK on the Concordia campus will introduce the Faculty of the Year award winner.
