Camosun’s first in-person convocation ceremony since 2019 is set to take place next week. The ceremony—happening on June 14, 15, and 16—is open to graduates of this year, 2021, and 2020. A convocation ceremony is an important milestone for students, faculty members, and staff, and while Camosun has offered virtual ceremonies for the last two, it wasn’t the same for students as an in-person ceremony.
“This is the biggest convocation ceremony that the college has ever had, in my understanding,” says Camosun College executive director of communications and marketing Rodney Porter. “We’re dealing with three cohorts over three days and six ceremonies… We haven’t done a convocation—well, an in-person convocation ceremony—since 2019. We did a virtual ceremony last year, but it wasn’t the same.”
The college expects up to 1,500 students to attend this year’s convocation ceremony, which is more than usual.
“We usually graduate more than 3,000 students every year from over 160 programs,” says Porter. “Normally, only a third of graduates attend convocation, but this year, we expect around up to 1,500 students. That’s a 50-percent increase this year.”
Graduates and guests can look forward to musical preludes, awards, and more at the ceremonies.
“Every ceremony is a little different, yet they follow a similar pattern,” says Porter. “We have four students from the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the Camosun College music program… We have the national anthem sung by a student from the Camosun music program… We will be addressing the graduates from the president, the vice-chair of the board, and the external executive of the student society.”
This will be the first sizeable in-person event for many people since the pandemic began. While restrictions in Victoria have eased, Camosun is following guidelines encouraged by health officials.
“We’re not out of COVID,” says Porter. “We are cognizant that this is the first large indoor event that many people will have participated in since the pandemic started in March 2020. That’s why we continue to follow the directions and guidance of public health experts. We’re going to have lots of masks and hand sanitizer available for people as needed.”