Celebrating Success: Online Graduation Update

On August 17, PVCC hosted a virtual graduation ceremony followed by a campus drive-through in order to safely honor the graduates during the Coronavirus. The virtual ceremony began streaming on the PVCC website at 2 p.m., running until around 3:30 p.m. The footage was then made available on PVCC’s YouTube page.

The drive-through took place from 4:30-6 p.m. on the same day. PVCC faculty and staff lined College Drive to cheer on the graduates, during which 58th District Delegate Rob Bell made a special guest appearance. There was also music and decorations, which added to the celebration. Participants were given gift bags filled with PVCC swag.

“Everything we’re doing now is different than we’ve done it before,” said Andrew Renshaw, the dean of student services at PVCC, who planned the event.   

The virtual ceremony was pre-recorded but has the feeling of a live production. The ceremony included speakers, a commencement address given by Mark Warner, and a speech from Frank Friedman, the president of PVCC.

“Some parts of it will be the same as a traditional graduation ceremony,” said Renshaw in an interview prior to the ceremony. “There are things that we need to do with a virtual ceremony, but we need to move through it in a way that is sensitive to the fact that people will be watching it online.”

Instead of having students walk across the stage, each student had a personalized slide with their name, degree, and Latin honor, which were compiled into a slideshow of all the graduates. Students were given the option to send in a picture of themselves to add to their slide. A professional speaker read off each slide to honor the graduates. Each student was required to send in a recording of themselves saying their name prior to the ceremony, “so when the professional speaker says the person’s name, they know it will be pronounced correctly,” said Renshaw.

For more information about upcoming graduation ceremonies, contact Renshaw at arenshaw@pvcc.edu.