Photo of Leadville native Cassandra Hall

Teaming up across the miles for better education

Leadville couple received degrees at CMC graduation

By Mike McKibbin

Photo of Leadville native Cassandra Hall
Leadville native Cassandra Hall received an associate degree in business and a bachelor’s in business administration; her husband, Lamont Hall, is currently working in Germany though still earned a bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies online this May from Colorado Mountain College. Photo Steve Sunday

Although one of them wasn’t there, a Leadville couple both received degrees at this year’s Colorado Mountain College commencement ceremonies.

Cassandra Hall, 41, who currently lives in Fountain, Colo., is receiving her Associate of Arts in business and Bachelor of Science in business administration. Her husband, Lamont Hall, 43, works for a government contractor and is in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. He was relocated to Germany in early March, but will also graduate with his Bachelor of Arts in sustainability studies. They have been enrolled in interactive video and distance learning courses.

The spring commencement ceremonies for CMC students in Leadville and Buena Vista were held Friday, May 6, in the Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center at the Leadville campus.

Cassandra Hall said the couple are both Leadville natives and graduated from Lake County High School. They enrolled at CMC when she decided to pursue an associate degree in 2009. Lamont, then working for the Summit County Sheriff’s Department, attended the Colorado Law Enforcement Training Academy at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs-Spring Valley.

After Lamont completed the academy and started to pursue his associate degree, he was deployed to Iraq.

Cassandra received a general Associate of Arts degree in 2011. In 2014, Lamont returned home and began to work on his bachelor’s degree. This March, his employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, relocated him to Germany.

Cassandra said the time involved in earning her degrees was worth it.

“I wanted to show my kids that you can still get an education at any age,” she said. “Better late than never and I hope they realize it can help them not worry about at least one thing in life.”

Having a strong educational background will also help in the event of an economic downturn, she said. She is an attendance secretary at Fountain-Fort Carson High School.

“You never know with the economy,” she said. “I might lose my job but I’ll still want to take care of my family and you will need a good education if you want to find a good job.”

That was one reason she decided to pursue her bachelor’s degree. “I was kind of content with my associate degree, but I thought it would be good to challenge myself,” she said. “Who needs sleep, right?”