After a full year of postponing commencement ceremonies to protect the health and safety of our K-State community, the Graduate School was pleased to celebrate all 2020 and spring 2021 master’s and doctoral graduates on May 14. The ceremony was special not only because some graduates had waited a year for this occasion, but they also had the unique opportunity to experience commencement on the football field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Normally held in Bramlage Coliseum, commencement ceremonies this spring were moved to Bill Snyder Family Stadium in order to allow for appropriate social distancing. With over 800 graduates participating in the Graduate School ceremony, the space was certainly needed. Of course, outdoor events always come with a risk of weather interruptions. Thankfully, the weather remained cool and dry for the Graduate School ceremony.
Hannah Shear, outgoing Graduate Student Council President and doctoral candidate in agricultural economics, served as the ceremony’s speaker. Shear congratulated her peers for their academic success, and especially for persevering through the last year. As they close this chapter and start a new one, Shear encouraged the graduates to make grace a focal point in their lives. “If you make your aim or purpose to do all things with grace, then you will without a doubt be successful,” she said.
Another unique aspect of this ceremony was the hooding of terminal degree candidates. In order to maintain safety, the number people at the stage had to be limited. While the traditional hooding process could not be followed, a mass hooding ceremony allowed for terminal degree candidates and faculty to participate in this valued tradition recognizing completion of their degree. With hooding faculty seated on the field in a row six-feet behind their respective graduate, doctoral graduates were synchronously hooded on the field before being recognized individually at the stage.
The spring 2021 commencement ceremony involved a great deal of planning and coordination by the Graduate School team, the Office of Enrollment Management, K-State Athletics, and many other staff and faculty. The additional time and dedication to host this much anticipated ceremony was well worth it to celebrate this very special milestone with our graduates.