The Yukon College graduating class of 2011-2012 crossed the stage at the Yukon Arts Centre on Saturday afternoon.

The graduating class of 212 students braved the cool spring rain, entering the centre in procession behind a bag piper and accompanied by the White Wind Drummers, a traditional First Nations' drum group honouring the graduates, 28 per cent of whom are First Nations.

The centre was filled to capacity, with more than 500 attendees, including graduates, faculty, staff and guests.

Master of Ceremonies, Robert Ferro, chair of the academic council for Yukon College, opened the event, while the afternoon's keynote address was made by Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

Other attendees included: Yukon MP Ryan Leef, Whitehorse Mayor Bev Buckway, MLA Lois Moorcroft, MLA Currie Dixon, city councillor Ranj Pillai, local businessman and Yukon College chancellor Rolf Hougen among others.

Randall Tetlichi, a Vuntut Gwitchin elder and college instructor, was the first to address the graduating class.

"You start here and you go anywhere, remember that,” he said, echoing the college's official slogan.

A graduate himself, he offered advice his own community elders gave him when he finished university in the 1960s:

"Education is a great happiness,” he said. "We take education and we use it as we work in the traditional world and as we work in the modern world.”

Jessie Dawson, an elder and community leader of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation, and Richard Martin, deputy chief of the Ta'an Kwach'an Council, spoke on behalf of the two local First Nations.

"Today you are coming into your own,”said Dawson. "It's the end of your era as a student, and the beginning of becoming a doer and achiever in the wider world. You will experience the highest highs in life and there will be times when it is not always smooth sailing, but your success will come from how you adapt to those ups and downs.”

Dawson finished her speech with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Dixon spoke on behalf of Minister of Education Scott Kent, who was unable to attend the ceremony.

"It wasn't long ago that I was sitting there,” the 26-year-old recent graduate of University of Northern British Columbia told the audience. "Opportunity is not just found or stumbled upon. Use your unique skill sets and keep learning.”

Dr. Karen Barnes, president of Yukon College, spoke to the crowd about the importance of carrying on in the footsteps of those who came before.

"Unlike Currie, my graduation was in the dark ages, 1979,” she said.

She quoted two visionary thinkers, past and present.

A proverb from Hillel the Elder: "If not you then who? If not now, then when?” she said.

From Steve Jobs, co-fonder of Apple Inc.:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other people's opinions drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Nicole Stewart, a graduate of the healthcare assistance program, spoke on behalf of her graduating class.

She began by acknowledging the staff and teachers of Yukon College for their support and guidance, while recognizing the role students play in teaching one another as well.

"Everyone here has taught me something and it has been my privilege to learn from them,” she said.

Stewart compelled her classmates not to "take themselves too seriously,” and offered some valuable insight into life after graduation:

"Some students graduate with honours,” she said. "The rest of us graduate with debts.”

Atleo began his keynote speech by acknowledging the elders in the room.

"I can't help but express my feelings of joy at being here,” he said, motioning to Randall. "Your words are like a river, that is just so easy to listen to and observe.”

His speech focused on relationships —those between people and nature and between one another.

"(Sioux spiritual leader) Black Elk said: the sole principle of the universe is relationships, our sole purpose as human beings is to uphold relationships.”

He offered his support for Yukon College in their effort to become a university.

"If you want to be a university, shouldn't it be so?” he said. "The chiefs and leaders in the North have said we want education in the North, for northerners, by northerners, as a way to continue to keep people in their home territories and that compels me to want to support that as much as possible.”

Using education to benefit the North should continue to be a priority for northerners, he said.

"It is not only where they might go on in their careers from here, but how they might go on to contribute to their home,” he told the Star after the ceremony.

"The North is a special and unique place and it has special and unique needs and it is a place of innovation and for me it is a particular inspiration. I think the country can learn from what's going on in a place like the Yukon.”

Ultimately, the relationships made in institutions like Yukon College will benefit not only the North, he said, but Canada as a whole.

"It's about forging partnerships,” he said. "Strong First Nations will make for a strong Yukon, a stronger Yukon will make for a stronger Canada and these sorts of strengthened relationships here are like a beacon to me. Whenever I am here I am particularly inspired.”

The latest batch of Yukon College graduates accepted their diplomas and certificates and filed out into the lobby to greet waiting friends and families.

"It's been a hard course and, with all the practical work I have completed, I am just happy I got through it,” said David Skookum, who graduated with his welding certificate.

"What's next?” said Mary Henry, a recent graduate of the Yukon Native Language Instructor program, between hugging family members, "I guess it's back to business, as usual.”