[1]The Worcester State University Snapchat filter students and families can use on Saturday, May 19
Worcester State University will uphold annual traditions and add some new elements as it holds its undergraduate commencement [2] ceremony on Saturday, May 19 at 10 a.m. at the DCU Center in Worcester with more than 1,200 students eligible to graduate.
It will be the first time the university is holding reunion weekend simultaneous with commencement weekend, as well as the first time those wishing to watch the ceremony from afar will be able to do so via a new way to connect: livestreaming of the ceremony at worcester.edu/livestream [3].
The 2018 graduates, their family members, alumni celebrating milestone reunion years, and honored guests will hear from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who will deliver a commencement address and receive an honorary degree, and from a recent alumnus, Eugene Bah ’12 [4]. Honorary doctorates also will be conferred upon Robert K. O’Brien ‘58, a university benefactor, and Darnell L. Williams, president and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, and two faculty members will receive the university’s most prestigious teaching award.
New this year, reunion activities are scheduled to coincide with commencement to comingle the generations—alumni returning to campus to reminisce and graduating seniors who will become the newest members of their ranks.
Alumni can participate in an Alumni March during commencement in addition to other reunion activities [5], including:
- The annual Golden Graduates Luncheon on Friday, May 18
- The new Party on the Green [6], for which young alumni from the Classes of 2007 to 2017 have been invited back to campus to mingle with graduating seniors on Friday evening
In addition to the time-honored traditions of a formal academic ceremony, Worcester State stays on the forefront by adding rich social media content, livestreaming, and an interactive photo booth for graduates to this year’s celebration.
Graduates, guests, families, and attendees can join the festivities by including the #woostate2018 hashtag in their tweets and Instagram posts.
Behind the scenes, Worcester State marketing staff will be on the lookout for these congratulatory posts to share them through a live “TweetWall” direct to the DCU Center scoreboard. Throughout the spring semester, graduating seniors have been sending their photos to the WSU Marketing Office for inclusion in this interactive feature.
Guests who like to “snap” stories though the online social media platform Snapchat will have use of a Worcester State Commencement filter to add excitement to their online memento of the day.
The addition of the livestream of commencement [3] allows Worcester State to share this special day with students’ family and friends who live out of the area. After all, WSU boasts students from more than 27 countries around the globe, and many of our students and families balance numerous obligations. It will be especially helpful for those with more than one college-aged family member graduating on the same day.
The undergraduate commencement ceremony will be livestreamed [3] from the worcester.edu website starting at 9:50 a.m.
Each year, the ceremony kicks off with the airing of a video created specifically for the occasion. This year’s will feature key moments in a typical Worcester State graduate’s journey, from their first steps onto campus through graduation as told by members of the graduating class.
Additionally, an archive video version of the event will be posted as a on-demand video to the university’s YouTube Channel [7] on the following Monday, May 21.
With new additions to a longstanding tradition of celebrating academic achievement, Worcester State University lives up to its core values of innovation and inclusivity.