To the class of 2025: Montana is proud of you — and we have something to teach America | Seth Bodnar

Across the state, families are gathering in school gyms and on football fields to celebrate one of life’s most significant milestones: high school graduation. To every member of Montana’s class of 2025, congratulations. Your state is proud of you.

And to the educators who helped these graduates reach this moment — our public school teachers, coaches, counselors, school staff, and administrators — thank you. Your work shapes individual lives and the future of our state. You have more than earned our respect and gratitude.

As we cheer on our high school graduates and honor those who’ve guided them, it’s worth pausing to celebrate another essential component of our state’s educational fabric: the Montana University System. From our flagship research universities to two-year colleges, from tribal colleges to technical training centers, Montana’s higher education institutions exist to serve the people of this great state.

We are not elite ivory towers. We are public institutions that belong to you.

And here’s the truth: Montana’s higher education system has something powerful to teach the rest of the country.

At a time when public trust in higher education is eroding, Montana offers a better way — one rooted in access, affordability, and a deep sense of place. Places like the University of Montana reflect the characteristics of the people we serve: resilience, courage, grit and compassion. The heart of a Grizzly. We are not elite outposts serving ourselves. We are community-anchored institutions, proud to be in and of Montana.

At the University of Montana, we don’t measure our success by whom we exclude. Instead, we measure our impact by how well we serve the people who come through our doors — and by how much stronger our communities become because of it.

We are working hard to ensure that every graduate — no matter their background, their ZIP code, or their income — has a clear, accessible and affordable path forward. We measure our success by how well we help students thrive once they come through our doors.

And that approach is working. At UM, we’ve seen a 47% increase in our first-year class since 2020, and we are proud to be serving far more Montana residents, veterans, Native Americans, and students who are the first in their families to attend college.

Nearly a third of these UM students graduate with zero debt. Those who do borrow take on significantly less than the national average. Our Grizzly Promise guarantees tuition-free education for any Montana student whose family makes $50,000 or less, because no one should be locked out of opportunity by the size of their bank account.

We offer workforce training, career pathways, cultural enrichment and community service. Whether it’s a short-term credential or a four-year degree in recreational management, cybersecurity or education, we are preparing students to meet real needs in Montana’s economy.

This model — wide-open access, real affordability, local impact — is not a compromise. It’s a calling. And it’s working.

Montana should be proud. And the country should take note.

In a time when too many institutions feel distant or out of touch, Montana’s colleges and universities are pulling up a chair. We’re asking, “What do you need?” Then we’re getting to work.

That’s why, over the past year, I’ve been hosting community roundtables across the state — from Butte to Billings to Hamilton — because our job isn’t to tell Montanans what we think they need. Our job is to hear what matters most to them — and then respond with action.

Because we belong to you.

So, to the graduates of Montana’s high schools: we celebrate you. And to the people of Montana: your colleges and universities are working every day to be worthy of your trust and your investment. We exist to lift people up.

Go Griz.