Award-winning Alumna Balanced Family, Work and School While Achieving her Goals
Nicole Caldwell was one of three star student speakers featured in the 2025 spring Commencement, delivering a powerful speech about overcoming challenges and using them to grow and evolve.
Caldwell is a funeral celebrant, grief coach and trailblazer in CGCC’s Mortuary Science program. She made history as the first CGCC student to win first place in a prestigious scholarship competition and has earned the most scholarship awards in program history. A proud member of Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Phi Sigma, Caldwell pursued mortuary science as her second career and third academic degree all while maintaining a 3.9 GPA and balancing motherhood, school, work and volunteering to support grieving families.
“As I reflect on my time at Chandler-Gilbert, I can look back and say it has been a great experience, and I attribute that to the people,” said Caldwell. “The spirit of the school is defined by the people you meet; my lovely classmates, the incredible faculty and staff and our amazing president. It’s a rare opportunity when you get to meet the president. The fact that he truly values and cares about the student experience has left me feeling heard and knowing he wants the best for all of us at the college.”
Upon graduation, Caldwell’s mission is to normalize conversations about grief and loss and to create a funeral home rooted in compassion and sustainability.