The Graduate School of Banking at Colorado (GSBC) on July 30 concluded its 70th Annual School Session and awarded 141 total graduates from across the nation with its prestigious diploma in banking July 29 during a ceremony in Boulder, Colo.

GSBC also awarded 15 students with honors, who graduated in the top 10 percent of their class based on their stellar work on their intersession projects. These individuals include:

• Jessop Adams, Adams Bank & Trust (Ogallala, NE)
• Alaina Boys, Tradition Capital Bank (Edina, MN)
• Yvette Christion, First National Bank of Sioux Falls (Sioux Falls, SD)
• Ryan Dagley, Signature Bank of Arkansas (Bentonville, AR)
• Brandon Davis, FDIC (Hiawatha, IA)
• Lori Edwards, First Farmers & Merchants Bank (Fairmont, MN)
• Alisa Hays, Merchants & Farmers Bank (Columbia, MO)
• Danielle Johnson, Community First Bank (Maywood, NE)
• Dana Jones, FDIC (West Des Moines, IA)
• James Muller, First National Bank (Cortez, CO)
• William Rogers, Jonah Bank of Wyoming (Casper, WY)
• Justin Schmit, Bank Midwest (Windom, MN)
• Vince Schuck, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (Richmond, VA)
• Christy Steffenhagen, Bank of North Dakota (Bismark, ND)
• Kassandra Thurow, Tradition Capital Bank (Edina, MN)

Graduates receive a diploma upon successfully completing six weeks of classroom training–two weeks for three consecutive years–which focus on general management and technology, leadership and human resource management, financial management and lending. The students also completed intersession projects and ended their curriculum at GSBC with an extensive bank management simulation course. The 2021 session showcased GSBC’s inaugural hybrid in-person/virtual session and featured strategic curriculum enhancements to help community banks continue to navigate the turbulent environment.

GSBC’s 71st Annual School Session is scheduled for July 17-29, 2022; applications will open in the fall of 2021.