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Northland holds 99th Commencement Ceremony

May 18, 2010

More than 130 graduates will receive their diplomas at Northland College’s 99th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 29. The event will be held in the Kendrigan Gymnasium on the Northland College campus beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Bayfield filmmaker John Hanson will deliver the 2010 commencement speech. The student address will be given by graduating senior Chelsea Lundgren.

Raised in McClusky, North Dakota, Hanson is credited with eight feature films, including 1974’s “Western Coal,” a documentary of coal strip mining and its effect on western communities, economies and culture, and 2008’s “Rhythm is the Soul of Life,” a documentary about the internationally acclaimed Nigerian drummer and cultural ambassador Babtunde “Baba” Olatunji. For his pioneering work as an independent filmmaker and his commitment to exploring politically and socially relevant themes in his work, Hanson will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Northland College. Hanson, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., has received several awards for his groundbreaking films, including the Prix de la Camera d’Or for Best First Feature at the Cannes International Film Festival for his 1978 film “Northern Lights,” and the Crystal Heart Award from the Heartland Film Festival for his 1993 film “Shimmer.”

Lundgren, a native of Crosby, Minn., is graduating from Northland with majors in business and psychology. An accomplished student-athlete, Lundgren is a member of Alpha Chi, a nationally recognized honor society and Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology. She has been named to the Dean’s list each semester she has been at Northland, and served as the student representative on the business faculty search committee. Recruited by Northland to play basketball, Lundgren established herself as a model student-athlete. She has captained both the women’s volleyball team and the women’s basketball team, and was named to the academic all-conference team for both squads from 2007 – 2010. In addition to her academic achievements, Lundgren was named to the all-conference basketball team from 2006 – 2010 and the all-conference volleyball team in 2007. In 2009, she helped lead the women’s basketball team to its first conference championship and built upon that strong performance by leading the team to its first NCAA national tournament berth in 2010.