VIRTUAL GRADUATION
Skidmore College gives out degrees in online commencement ceremony
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Although the coronavirus pandemic derailed an exciting time for many college seniors, Skidmore College still found a way to honor its graduates.
After spending most of the spring semester online, 647 degrees were conferred during a virtual commencement ceremony on Saturday. Students will receive their diplomas by mail.
College officials broadcasted the event live from the Surrey Williamson Inn on Skidmore’s campus and streamed on Skidmore’s
website and social media accounts.
The ceremony included a rendition of Skidmore’s alma mater performed by Emma Berkowitz ‘20 and Lindsay Walsh ‘20; welcoming remarks by Jinan Al-Busaidi ‘20, senior class president; a speech by faculty speaker Jennifer
C. Mueller; and greetings from President Philip A. Glotzbach, who invited graduates to rise and move their tassels from right to left, symbolizing the conferring of degrees.
Glotzbach addressed the Class of 2020 for his final time with his retirement taking place in June after 17 years at the col
lege.
“We all had to make it up as we went along — rather like trying to keep an airplane flying while making emergency repairs. But you rose to the challenge. Along with so many people at our College, you displayed flexibility, inventiveness, perseverance, and creativity,” Glotzbach said in a news release. “Yours is arguably one of the most resilient classes in the College’s history — perhaps the most resilient one.”
“Life will present you with myriad new challenges and opportunities along the way, many of which you cannot anticipate at this moment, but you will always be able to call upon what you’ve learned over these past few months, what you’ve proved yourself able to do. Cherish the confidence and celebrate the strength you’ve gained in dealing with this pandemic,” he added in the news release.
Skidmore College officials noted in the news release how they intend to host an in-person ceremony at a later date.
“Despite a widespread pandemic that has crippled the world, we’ve made it. What is typically a cliché statement heard at so many graduation ceremonies around the world every year, ‘we made it’ means so much more to the class of 2020,” AlBusaidi said in the news release. “People have said that the class of 2020 only got 3.75 years together, but in reality, our bond transcends any official graduation date.
“Although we are not together in person today, we are together in spirit.”
The online commencement ceremony can be found at https://www.skidmore. edu/news/2020/0530-virtualcommencement-main.php
Social media posts from Skidmore College’s commencement can be found at https://www.skidmore.edu/ commencement/2020/socialposts.php