Distinguished Alum Major Nicholas Sottler, Trustee Emeritus John Holcomb and Professor Emerita Sue Nichols will give commencement addresses at North Central Missouri College in Trenton Saturday, May 9. Sottler will speak at the 9 a.m. ceremony, Holcomb will be the 1 p.m. speaker and Nichols will be the 5 p.m. speaker. All ceremonies will take place in the Ketcham Community Center.

Sottler, is a senior certified instructor at the National Geospatial-Intelligence College, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency with the Department of Defense. He attended NCMC, earned a bachelor’s in engineering from Kansas State University and an MBA from Averett University, Danville, Virginia.

In 1975, after graduating from KSU, he entered the United States Marine Corps as a commissioned officer. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1995. As a Marine, his primary military occupation was as an infantry officer. He served seven years with combat units, five years as a staff officer working force structure issues, attended two schools, and served on recruiting duty. Since retiring from the Marine Corps, he has worked as a government contractor in-and-for DoD.

At NGA for the last 20 years, Nick has been a lead instructor/facilitator and course developer for the agency’s Onboarding Seminar Program, the agency’s Faculty Development Program, and presently, is a lead instructor and course developer for NGA’s Leader/Officer Development Program.

Holcomb is a lifelong resident of Trenton and a graduate of Trenton High School’s Class of 1964. He continued his education at Trenton Junior College and the University of Central Missouri before earning his Doctor of Optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1971. Following graduation, Holcomb served for one year as an instructor in the ICO Clinic. He then returned to Trenton to join his father in the practice of optometry, where he served the community for forty‑five years before retiring in 2016.

In 1980, he received the Outstanding Service Award from both the Trenton Jaycees and the Missouri Jaycees, the latter also naming him one of Missouri’s Outstanding Young Missourians. The Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce honored him with the Above and Beyond Award in 1994 and later recognized him as a Pillar of the Community in 2016. Holcomb has been a member of the Trenton Lions Club for 54 years and was named a Melvin Jones Fellow in 2023. He served 14 years on the Trenton R‑9 Board of Education and was a board member of the Missouri School Boards Association, receiving the statewide Paul Morris Award for Community Service from the MSBA Future Builders Foundation. He was also named a Friend of Education by the Missouri Association of School Administrators.

His longstanding commitment to education includes service as a board member of the Foundation Trust for Trenton High School since 1993 and 21 years on the Board of Trustees for North Central Missouri College, where he was named Trustee Emeritus in 2026.

Nichols, professor emeritus of nursing at North Central Missouri College, retired from NCMC in June 2024 after more than 20 years of dedicated service. At the time of her retirement, she was serving as the dean/director of the Savannah campus, a role that reflected both her leadership and deep commitment to education.

Throughout her distinguished career at NCMC, Nichols served as a longtime nursing faculty member and as the online PN to ADN coordinator, where she played a pivotal role in advancing student success and program development. Her contributions extended beyond the classroom, as she was actively involved in initiatives such as nursing accreditation and strategic planning.

In recognition of her outstanding service, Nichols was awarded the 2019 Senior Service Award at the statewide Missouri Community College Association convention. She began her academic journey by earning her Associate Degree in Nursing from Iowa Central Community College, followed by her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Northwest Missouri State University.

Prior to entering nursing education, she gained valuable clinical experience in emergency care, acute care, home health, and hospice across northwest Missouri.

Over the years, she has had the privilege of teaching across multiple programs and locations, including PN in Trenton, PN-ADN in Maryville and the online PN- ADN program, culminating in her leadership role in Savannah.