Muskegon Community College will replicate last year’s popular and interactive drive-through ceremony on campus when MCC celebrates its 2022 Commencement rain or shine on Wednesday, May 4.
“While our hope was to return to a traditional Commencement ceremony this year, our priority remains the safety of our students and their families,” said MCC President Dale K. Nesbary, who will be participating in his 13th and final MCC graduation before his retirement this summer.
“The response to the 2021 Drive-Through Commencement was overwhelmingly positive. Our graduates told us how much they appreciated the activities, the warm reception from our faculty, the encouragement from staff and volunteers at every stop, and ultimately the opportunity to walk across the stage. The fact that graduates had family members riding with them to share the experience and that it took place on the MCC campus made it even more special.”
In January, the Commencement organizers began working on this year’s event which begins at 5 p.m. on MCC’s main campus. Graduates, who have pre-registered to participate in the ceremony, will arrive in their vehicles in the Stevenson Center parking lot. There, they will receive commemorative gifts, have their formal Commencement photos taken, have photo opportunities with Jay, the MCC mascot, and enjoy music under the tent.
The graduates, who may have family and friends accompany them in their vehicles, will depart from the North Lot onto Quarterline Road and re-enter the campus at the South Lot. There, the motorcade will slowly pass by cheering MCC faculty and staff, who will flank the vehicles and applaud the graduates as they enter the next chapter of their lives.
When each vehicle approaches the MCC main campus building’s entrance area, the graduates will exit and walk toward the Commencement stage erected in the parking lot. Photographers and videographers will capture the moment for the graduates.
On hand to hear every graduate’s name being read aloud will be members of the Muskegon Community College Board of Trustees donned in their formal regalia. MCC President Dale K. Nesbary will deliver the opening remarks, which will be incorporated with pre-taped messages from the student speakers and both the MCC Distinguished Alumni Award and the Alumni Achievement Award recipients, into a commemorative video that will be shared later with the graduates.
The graduates will descend from the stage, return to their vehicles, and exit at the main entrance onto Marquette Avenue.
For more information on the 2022 Commencement, please contact OfficeoftheRegistrar@muskegoncc.edu or visit https://www.muskegoncc.edu/commencement.