A windy Saturday morning welcomed graduates and their families to University Stadium. With gusts up to 20 miles per hour, graduates were losing things from their regalia countless times. Tassels, pieces of cap decorations, stoles and more flew off graduates as they waited to cross the stage and receive their diplomas.
Leslie Cornick, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, began the commencement ceremony by welcoming family and friends to the celebration of their loved ones.
“Today we are celebrating you,” Cornick said.
David Miller, a bachelor’s candidate in Social Sciences, took the podium next as this graduation’s student speaker.
He recalled an instance during distance learning when he was taking a test, locked in his bathroom while his kids were calling for him, and said it was “the epitome of distance learning during COVID.”
President Steve Perez took the podium after Miller. He was excited to learn that “half of Chico is still asleep!” because of the early start time for the ceremony, and invited everyone in the crowd to cheer as loudly as they could.
The wind gusts, which were an issue throughout the entire ceremony, made it difficult for the faculty to read speeches and prepared thoughts.
“The wind is wreaking havoc on our paperwork, but we’re getting through it,” Perez said.
The stage faculty began forming the graduates in their designated lines on either side of the stage when a table with sound equipment fell, according to event staff. The equipment broke upon impact, and both lines had to condense into a single file line.
The automated announcing system worked well until a faculty member stepped in to read the names of the last graduates.
Gabrielle Saldana, receiving her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, said she feels great and is “super excited for the next steps.”
“I feel like Chico State prepared me for the job market and connecting with other industries,” Saldana said. “I’m really proud to have finished my degree here.”
Saldana will be interning at Union Pacific in Omaha, Nebraska, this summer, and is excited to expand into the world of marketing and sales.
The other ceremonies include:
- Saturday, May 16, at 7 p.m., honoring the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. (Ceremony 2)
- Sunday, May 17, at 9 a.m., honoring the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and the College of Natural Sciences.
Elizabeth Perez and Grace Payne can be reached at [email protected]
