Kimberley Strong’s college degree was a long time coming – nearly 35 years.

Since she started attending colleges in California in the early 1980s, Strong has held a variety of jobs, returned home to Klukwan to care for her aging parents, and served nine years as tribal president of the Chilkat Indian Village.

On receiving her degree at University of Alaska-Fairbanks a month ago, Strong was named winner of the Gray S. Tilly Memorial Award…