By Mary Stoudt
Totally a surprise to the class of 2021, Ferrum College made an official announcement on Mar. 26 that in-person graduation will take place on May 1 at 9:00 a.m. at Adams Stadium.
“I honestly didn’t think we were going to have one; so when Ferrum said it would be in person and we could invite family, I was shocked and I think all the other seniors were too,” said senior Dakota Fletcher, who was surprised by this announcement.
Soon after this plan was announced, the campus began to make preparations for this first in-person graduation ceremony since the outbreak of the COVID. The groundskeeping crew has started planting flowers and replacing old banners throughout the campus.
Director of Residence Life and Housing Alli Colls Summers also announced that Ferrum will resume the annual graduation cap decorating contest. To join the contest, students must use the dropbox link that was included in the email sent by Summers. The winner of the contest will be the cap with the most Facebook likes, who will also receive a Ferrum College diploma frame as an award.
In addition, the class of 2020 were also invited to a makeup in-person ceremony on April 30 at 6:00 p.m. at Adams Stadium. Due to this new schedule, the baccalaureate for the class of 2021 - which was originally scheduled on May 1 - was canceled. The schedule of other events remains the same. The annual awards ceremony will take place on April 16. The class of 2021 will also have their class photo on April 24 at 9:00 a.m.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, graduation took place at the Hart International Plaza and unlimited guests were able to attend. With COVID regulations in place, students who plan to attend the in-person graduation ceremony - for both class of 2020 and class of 2021 - must register themselves and up to four guests online.
If the in-person commencement ceremony were to be cancelled, graduation for the class of 2021 will be virtual and take place on May 15. For updated information regarding graduation, you can visit this site.