During its 90th Commencement ceremony on June 18, 2026, LCC will award a posthumous degree to Maria Ameera Devasha Malabago Van-Dolah. Ameera Van-Dolah of Clatskanie, Oregon, was a member of the truly remarkable 2026 Fighting Smelt Speech and Debate team, earning a bronze medal at the Phi Rho Pi national tournament in Virginia earlier this year. She was an assistant volleyball coach, a princess in the Portland Rose Parade, and served as a peer mentor in our Diversity and Equity Center. She was an honor student, an excellent cook, and, according to her mother, an outstanding driver.
Ameera’s mother, Dyna Van-Dolah, will attend Commencement to accept a posthumous Associate in Arts degree on her daughter’s behalf.