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For many students, walking across the graduation stage is a long-imagined event. After years of study and dozens of credits earned, the graduation ceremony is the culminating moment where students, family, friends and faculty can celebrate the valiant efforts students undertook to earn a degree.

With almost 1,500 students graduating from SPSCC this year, college leadership, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to safely celebrate this year’s graduating class through the SPSCC Virtual Commencement Ceremony. Photo courtesy: SPSCC

Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevents an in-person gathering, South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) still plans to recognize the Class of 2020 through the SPSCC Virtual Commencement Ceremony on June 20. College leadership, faculty, staff and students will have the opportunity to safely celebrate this year’s graduating class, comprised of almost 1,500 students, all from a remote setting.

For SPSCC, the decision to cancel an in-person graduation ceremony was not taken lightly, but was guided by state and county-wide social distancing regulations for the health of the community. The college also conferred with The Evergreen State College, as both schools often share graduation venues and conduct ceremonies on neighboring dates.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has altered plans for many large gatherings, including commencement ceremonies, SPSCC sought out alternative methods to recognize graduating students. The SPSCC Student Life department collected student feedback and it was clear that students wanted a virtual ceremony to replace an in-person event.

“Overwhelmingly, students said that they wanted at least a virtual commencement,” explains SPSCC Director of Strategic Communications Kati Sagawa. “And that’s really what guided our final decision to make it happen.”

Coordinating commencement in a new format, the virtual commencement team has been hard at work helping to coalesce different aspects of the ceremony, from the student speaker’s speech, to messages from college leadership, faculty and staff. Each piece of the ceremony has been woven together after each speaker recorded their message remotely.

The SPSCC Virtual Commencement Ceremony will mimic many aspects of an in-person event, including a student speaker and a message from College President, Timothy Stokes. Photo courtesy: SPSCC

Although conducted from a remote location, the SPSCC Virtual Commencement ceremony will mimic many aspects of an in-person event. The ceremony will feature the premiere of a brand-new Alma Mater for SPSCC, written and performed by SPSCC music faculty and choir. Following the remote musical performance, College President Timothy Stokes and Chair of the SPSCC Board of Trustees Doug Mah will address the graduating class. A commencement tradition, this year’s virtual ceremony will also feature a speech from a faculty member, a student speaker, and will announce two outstanding student awards.

“This year’s student speaker is a returning adult student, Nickole Rosalez,” says Sagawa. “Everyone who has the pleasure of knowing Nickole agree with the three words she uses to describe herself: hard working, patient, and outgoing.”

Rosalez first came to SPSCC to earn her high school diploma through the High School+ program, and then started working toward her Associate in Arts transfer degree. She’ll take her next steps at Saint Martin’s University this fall to work toward to her goal of becoming a higher education professor.

“I’m grateful for having had this experience and meet and be impacted by the stories and experiences of others,” says Rosalez.

As the event draws nearer, Sagawa and the commencement team are still trying to recreate certain moments that are more difficult to capture during a virtual ceremony.

“The speeches are sensitive to the unique times we’re living, but celebratory,” says Sagawa. “We’re trying to make it as meaningful as possible for our incredible students.”

The ceremony’s format will divert from tradition after speeches are completed. As an alternative to calling every graduate to the stage in a live reading of names, viewers will be directed to a new commencement webpage to view several separate degree presentation videos, read by area faculty.

“Graduates will be able to find their degree area, celebrate their peers, or jump to where their name is announced,” says Sagawa.

As a means of including students in the virtual festivities, SPSCC plans to share photos of graduates in their cap and gown throughout the ceremony. Photo courtesy: SPSCC

This year’s virtual commencement will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 20. The ceremony is slated to premiere on YouTube, as well as on the SPSCC Facebook page. Although many of the ceremony’s speeches and addresses will be pre-recorded, there will still be an opportunity for interaction via live comment feeds on both YouTube and Facebook. SPSCC also plans to share photos of graduates who post to Facebook and Instagram with hashtag #spscc.

“This is what we all work for,” explains Sagawa. “Every staff and faculty member at the college, they want to see students walk across the stage. Since we can’t see that this year, providing something beautiful and memorable at a high quality where we’re recognizing them is really important to us. So, we’re just doing our best to make that happen.”

To learn more about the virtual commencement ceremony, visit the South Puget Sound Community College website.

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