They warned me about the windy, cold spring days of the Valley. But know what? It’s withstanding those windy days and recognizing the sunshine and beautiful cloudless days ahead that provide a perfect metaphor for Adams State University.

It’s time for the university to turn the page from crisis to opportunity, and to push forward into a new period of growth through innovation and relevance. Our financial outlook is stabilizing; efforts to increase the student body through new degree programs and more course offerings online, on-campus and during the summer are underway; and the sense of opportunity is as real as the blooming of new buds on a tree in springtime.

The spring season offers us an opportunity to thank the many supporters and believers in Adams State who are so critical to our success. Donors like Paul Morley of San Diego, and Alamosa’s Glenn and Kerry Burnham, who have provided Adams State with recent generous individual gifts.

And the SLV-based Outcalt Foundation, which in memory of the late Ralph Outcalt, a longtime Alamosa businessman and believer in the importance of education, has provided new scholarship support to Adams State students. We recognize all of these important contributions and more as we prepare for our spring graduation on May 11.

The promise of Adams State is to honor the confidence and trust that the university’s faithful bestow upon us, and to graduate new alumni who carry the same passion for Adams State as our many donors.

Adams State is in a good position to capitalize on today’s trends in higher education. Its mission to provide access and opportunity to all students who wish to pursue and dream a better life is alive and well.

Before we know it, a new graduating class will walk through the gymnasium at Plachy Hall and onto the stage to receive the diplomas they worked so hard to earn. May is around the corner, and so is our spring graduating class of 2019.

In so many cases, our graduates are able to achieve success because of the support from our donors. What you give and how you give back can help determine so much for the students who have chosen Adams State as their school.

To the community of Alamosa and friends across the San Luis Valley, we thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you on campus sometime this spring, or during summer, and for sure by fall. Please come and visit, participate and re-connect with Adams State.

Our optimism is renewed. We hope yours is too.

Cheryl D. Lovell, Ph.D., is president of Adams State University.