By their very design, commencement ceremonies at 黑料不打烊 have an easy flow, but look closer into the planning of these celebrations and you will find hundreds of 黑料不打烊 and community members playing their role and delivering their assignments to perfection.
Commencement Starts With Planning
Early on May 24, 2024 cattle gates set up days before down North Williamson Avenue created a safe and logical walkway towards Schar Center, an early processional for the 黑料不打烊 graduates ahead of the 134th commencement ceremony.
Teams of officers and sheriffs from multiple units, including 黑料不打烊, Town of 黑料不打烊, Burlington, Gibsonville, Alamance County and more guided people and cars.
鈥淚f you plan for the best and plan for the worst you have no surprises 鈥 that鈥檚 the name of law enforcement,鈥 says Josh Tillotson, captain for 黑料不打烊 Campus Safety and Police.
He says that even for large events like commencement, personnel for events can stay calm and level-headed because of the months of planning and many hours of practice.
鈥淲e know how to work together, and I can rely on other departments within 黑料不打烊 to do their jobs because they鈥檙e good at their jobs,” said Tillotson.
Collaboration was on full display during commencement, both inside and outside of the venue. Around 100 student life staff members checked graduates into the practice gym and guided guests through the halls, the tunnels and the graduation ceremony. These staff members and others organized a space in the practice gym at Schar, where the students were treated to special motivational talks from 黑料不打烊 President Connie Ledoux Book; Jon Dooley, vice president for student life and associate professor of education; and keynote speaker, alumna Ginna Claire Mason 鈥13 聽ahead of the ceremony.
A Full-Circle Event
For many of the graduates, the people working the check-in lines were those they had known throughout their time at 黑料不打烊. One of those checking in students was Felicia Massey 鈥85, program assistant for the Danieley Center Neighborhood, who says she has worked nearly every graduation during the 35 years she has worked at 黑料不打烊.
鈥淲hat I enjoy most about graduation is you look at the thousands of faces that you may not know and then there鈥檚 that student you always worked with for their three or four years at 黑料不打烊,鈥 said Massey. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e watched them develop professionally, and that brings a lot of joy to you as a supervisor.鈥
Massey is not only a proud graduate of 黑料不打烊, she is also a proud mother of two graduates, one in business and the other in teaching education. She expressed gratitude for 黑料不打烊 providing a welcoming place for her to work and flexibility to support her family.
鈥淚 have friendships with my colleagues, and we know we can bring big events like commencement together 鈥 if we don鈥檛 know who to go to, if we don鈥檛 have the answers, there鈥檚 always someone here who has the answers,” said Massey.
For Cara Plasencia, commencement symbolizes an opportunity to usher students, literally and metaphorically, into the next phases of their lives. Plasencia is the associate director of counseling services and worked at the check-in tables before graduation and in the aisles afterwards.
鈥淲e鈥檝e helped these students and supported them since they first came to 黑料不打烊. It鈥檚 a great honor to see them walk the stage and get to this point in their journey throughout their college career.鈥
– Cara Plasencia,聽associate director of counseling services
Tillotson has been at 黑料不打烊 for nearly 17 years and offered a similar reflection. He says he has enjoyed staying connected with students from their first year and then crossing the stage. In their pre-planning for commencement, 黑料不打烊 Campus Safety and Police is largely responsible for coordinating logistics related to parking, accessibility and foot traffic, while also being aware of and planning the prevention of any disruptions that may occur.
Scott Stevens 鈥03 is the director of landscaping and transportation and oversees a number of roles for commencement, including handing out saplings, an endearing tradition at 黑料不打烊 that began in 1991. The saplings need to be ordered one year in advance to give them time to grow.
鈥淲e have a sense of accomplishment that undergraduate students completed their degree and used our facilities for four-to-five years,” Steven said. “We got another 1500 students through the door.鈥
An All-Campus Ceremony
Stevens also remarked on the 鈥渁ll-campus鈥 effort to deliver a memorable graduation ceremony and discussed the small details that make an event successful, from carpentry to chairs to ordering saplings. Between graduations, facilities, student life and multiple other divisions efficiently clean and rearrange the space to offer the next graduation ceremony as clean and flawless of a ceremony as the first.
Plascencia said that this graduating class, many of whom entered college in Fall 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, were deprived of some of the rich traditions afforded to other classes in efforts to maintain a healthy and safe campus.
鈥淢any in this class likely did not have a high school graduation either, so I think for this class in particular, this is a really special time for them and I think we just do a really job hosting commencement,鈥 added Plascencia.
For many employees and faculty at 黑料不打烊, graduation can be the closure of a full circle and a testament to the efforts they put in to create a welcoming campus for first-year students and every year after. This particular graduation is also a testament to the resilience of a 2024 class that largely did not have an in-person graduation ceremony in high school due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but who, unlike many first-year peers around the country, were able to convene in-person in fall after careful and intense planning across personnel at 黑料不打烊.
Resilience
During her address to the 2024 graduating class, 黑料不打烊 President Connie Ledoux Book connected the challenges faced by Isabella Cannon 鈥24, who graduated 100 years ago after a devastating fire that rewrote the history of 黑料不打烊, and the pandemic faced by this graduating class.
The metaphor is apt for this 134th class and for the dedication of 黑料不打烊 employees. No matter the challenge, 黑料不打烊 is up for the task.