UMD honors winter graduates with a virtual commencement ceremony
The ceremony will feature remarks from deans and the announcement of each graduates’ name (University of Maryland)
Although the University of Maryland is unable to gather together to celebrate the accomplishments of this winter’s graduates, they will be hosting a virtual ceremony Sunday, Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. The event will stream on both UMD’s Facebook and YouTube channel and on the Virtual Winter 2020 Commencement Ceremony website here and will include photos, videos, and special remarks. Three-time Olympian and Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes, who graduated from the university in 2002, will also be delivering the virtual commencement.
The university will also be distributing care packages to each graduate, including the official commencement poster and pin. And with the virtual ceremony set to begin, some of Maryland’s winter graduates are more thrilled than others.
“I’m honestly not that excited because I’ll just be looking at my name scrolling down a list,” said economics major and member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Victor Agbar.
Agbar explained that although he is looking forward to getting his degree, the virtual ceremony won’t be as exciting as the traditional in-person graduation but he isn’t upset because he knows the university is doing the best it can under current circumstances.
“I think that I would’ve done just as well in an in-person learning environment. It was harder to make friends in my classes and do things and do things like group projects but overall, it wasn’t too bad,” said Agbar.
On the other hand, communication studies major Jasmine Harry said she is excited about joining the virtual graduation. Due to social distancing orders, her family plans to do a drive-by-parade at her house, where everyone can make “congratulations” signs and honk their horns as they drive by.
Harry expressed that while finishing the semester, she did not have the best experience with online learning. Although it was extremely difficult, it motivated her to complete her work.
“After graduation, I will be applying to grad school to get my master’s in public relations, as well as to travel when it is safe to do so,” said Harry, who is the co-communications director for Christ in Culture (CIC), an organization for students seeking to learn and express their faith in Christ.
Graduating communications major Trinity Cyrus described the ceremony as “bittersweet” as she is proud that she has made it this far into her college experience but believes it won’t be the same feeling as walking across the stage.
“While the learning environment can be somewhat exhausting, I completed this semester with all A’s, so I think I would do better virtually. I plan on taking a break after graduation until the new year and then I plan on applying for jobs,” said Cyrus, who is also a member of CIC.
In the days leading up to the ceremony, the university has encouraged graduates to share their memories of their college experience using the hashtag #UMDgrad on social media sites such as Twitter and Instagram.