The Adams State University 2022 Fall Commencement Ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, in Plachy Hall. The Honorable Samuel A. Evig is the commencement speaker. In October of 2021, Judge Evig, a San Luis Valley native, was appointed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis to the district court bench in the Fourth Judicial District, where he presides over a criminal and domestic docket.
Judge Evig, Adams State Class of 2001, plans to convey a message of hope to the 2022 graduating class. “We live in a world that can appear dismal and dark. But we also live in a world where amazing, beautiful, and wonderful things happen.”
He still remembers his Adams State graduation day. “At the time, I was happy just like most graduates are happy,” Judge Evig added. “But when I sat there on graduation day, I did not realize the value of what I had done and what I received. I knew, intellectually, I had finished something important; but I did not then recognize the value of what I had done and what Adams State gave me.”
While attending law school and later as an attorney, Judge Evig truly understood the value of his Adams State education. “It also became clear when I saw my wife, Crystal (Adams State Class of 2002), work in medical research, graduate from medical school, and then become a board-certified physician. Those experiences proved to me that Adams State prepared us, in the ways that mattered most, better than other schools prepared our classmates.”
Judge Evig, and his wife, Crystal (née Willis), graduated from Del Norte High School. He credits the close contact with Adams State professors and local attorneys and judges with his academic success. “The fact that professors and attorneys kept their doors open and shared conversations mattered a lot. I was, and am, a bit reserved and shy at times. Adams State professors, though, helped draw me out and give me the confidence to speak. Their encouragement and involvement mattered to me. They helped prepare me to succeed and feel some confidence talking to people with lofty academic credentials and higher levels of education.”
Judge Evig received his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law. He returned to Colorado after graduation and worked at the oldest law firm in Denver for two years in the business and real estate department. He left the firm in 2007 to work as a deputy district attorney in Colorado’s 18th Judicial District. He left prosecution in 2017 and did criminal defense work with two friends for almost two years before Governor Hickenlooper appointed him to the county court bench on the last day of 2018.
First-generation student from Albuquerque, N.M., Jasmina Martinez will convey the message from the Adams State Class of 2022. A sociology/criminology major, Martinez was involved in Student Support Services and the Christian Challenge Club, as well as serving as a student ambassador, activities coordinator, and orientation leader. “Throughout my college career I met the most incredible faculty and gained lifelong friends.”
During the fall commencement ceremony, Adams State will award 98 bachelor degrees; 33 post-graduate degrees; and 130 associate degrees. John Singletary will deliver a greeting from the Board of Trustees. Music major Carlos Gonzalez, tenor, and William Lipke, D.M.A., will perform Flight by Craig Carnelia, as the special music. Special performances of the alma mater will be performed by Carlos Gonzalez, tenor, and Autumn Yokom, soprano.
For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed.
