Northwest Florida State College's Fall Commencement Ceremony Featuring Musician and Storyteller Sean Dietrich

Disclaimer: We are promoting this event on behalf of a local chamber member. This event is not managed or sponsored by the Destin Chamber.

Northwest Florida State College is excited to announce that author, musician, storyteller, and alumnus Sean Dietrich will serve as the keynote speaker for the College's Fall Commencement Ceremony.

“NWFSC is proud to welcome Sean Dietrich back to his alma mater to deliver some inspiring words to the next generation of Raider alumni,” said Interim President Dr. Cristie Kedroski. 

Dietrich’s wildly popular blog and musical podcast, "Sean of the South," is suited for anyone with red clay on their car and sand in their shoes. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, Southern Living, Garden and Gun, and he has authored fifteen books. 
  
His one-man shows have earned him a following in the southeastern United States and among closeted accordion players worldwide. Sean is a master storyteller in the tradition of Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and Lewis Grizzard. His brutally candid, laugh-out-loud, and sometimes painful tales remind us that we are not alone in our human experience.  

Taking lessons learned from his hardscrabble childhood, this middle-school dropout, former construction worker/ice-cream dipper, and NWFSC community college alumnus has earned a following for his painfully honest writing, songs, humorous observations, and blue-collar love of life. His tales of covered-dish suppers, camp meeting sing-alongs, funerals gone awry, and hounds that have crossed the Rainbow Bridge have audiences drying their eyes one minute and slapping their knees the next.
 
His latest book, “You Are My Sunshine”, published by Zondervan Books, is a true tale of a how two novice cyclists, a husband-and-wife duo who share the last name of “Dietrich”, tackled a 350-mile trail and not only lived to tell about it, but emerged more resilient and in love than ever.
 
A 2012 graduate of Northwest Florida State College, Dietrich was honored by the NWFSC Foundation in 2018 with its Against the Odds Alumni Award.

Dietrich, and his wife, Jamie, along with dogs Thelma Lou, Otis Campbell, and Marigold the Blind Wonder Dog are residents of Birmingham, Ala., but cannot shake the Florida panhandle out of their system.

NWFSC’s Commencement Ceremony will be held on Friday, Dec. 13, at 11:00 a.m. at Raider Arena.  

Pictured: Author and Storyteller Sean Dietrich, who will be the keynote speaker at Northwest Florida State College’s Fall Commencement Ceremony.