Abhinav Mendhe
Humber College will be hosting its graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020 virtually later this week, making up for the cancellation of in-person ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ceremony will be held on June 18 at 10 a.m. (EST) to honour the achievements of all the Humber College students completing their programs this year.
“All students attending and graduating are accomplished and ready for success, this year the graduating class also had to deal with an extraordinary circumstance and show tremendous resilience with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nadia Araujo, media relations and external communications specialist at Humber.
“We know that the virtual celebration doesn’t replace an actual ceremony,” she said.
The college has also created a platform where faculty, friends, and family can post shoutouts or messages to the graduating class, congratulating them on their achievements.
Students will be be able to download digital swag, including a Humber Grad Celebration sticker set for Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and TikTok, and Facebook banners and profile picture frames, and Instagram story templates.
Yashveer Malhan, a Business Management student at Humber, decided to return home before bans on international travel were put in place, and was pleased to hear he wouldn’t have to miss his graduation after all.
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to attend my graduation, but few days ago I got an email from Humber about virtual graduation and I was really excited about it. I will be able to attend it with my parents beside me,” he said.
The graduation ceremony will be open for current students, alumni, faculty and the Humber community to attend. Anyone can submit a shoutout for the graduating students, download digital swag, or buy commemorative memorabilia at the Humber website.
“The graduates that are graduating during this virtual celebration will get to do an in-person convocation once it is safe to do so,” Araujo said. “We are waiting for restrictions to allow large gatherings and the 2020 Grads will get to celebrate an in-person convocation.”