Thirty of our College graduate candidates joined faculty and staff last week for a Zoom meeting to gather thoughts and opinions on commencement. They and other students provided good insight and creative ideas.
As a result, Saint Mary’s is moving forward with two plans for undergraduates, the first is a virtual commencement recognition, which will be shared May 22 via email, social media, and our website. This is not a substitute for commencement, but an additional way to recognize and honor seniors. The goal is to put together a professional video, with music, speakers, and photos of as many seniors as possible.
Saint Mary’s is also planning an in-person celebration on the Winona Campus at a later date, potentially August. Clearly, there are still many unknowns in our future, as there isn’t a way to project the path of this virus, but leaders are building out a variety of different celebration scenarios.
We know this isn’t the spring anyone anticipated, but Saint Mary’s wants graduates to know how proud we are of all their accomplishments and to celebrate them at any opportunity we can. It’s our greatest hope that we are all able to gather together again soon.