Saturday’s virtual commencement ceremony to celebrate summer and fall graduates

Western Washington University invites the community to join the virtual celebration of summer and fall graduates Saturday, Dec. 12, at noon for an online ceremony featuring video clips from family and faculty, an address by a student speaker, and personalized slides for graduates who made reservations.

The prerecorded ceremony will be online at commencement.wwu.edu Saturday at noon. A 6-minute preshow begins at 11:54 a.m.

The ceremony celebrates graduates who completed their degrees in August and December 2020. At the end of summer quarter, 385 undergraduates and 55 graduate students completed their degrees. When fall quarter ends Saturday, about 773 undergraduates and 52 graduate students are expected to complete their degrees.

The ceremony will be broadcast in English, with available closed-captioning in English and Spanish and American Sign Language available on screen.

The program, will include short speeches by President Sabah Randhawa, Gov. Jay Inslee, a student speaker, and other dignitaries. The student speaker will be Nathaniel Gaines, who is receiving his degree in human services. Heather Flaherty, ’09 and ’14, executive director of the Chuckanut Health Foundation, will welcome graduates into the community of WWU alumni.

The ceremony will also include the reading of the names of every graduate who made a free reservation to participate in the ceremony. Graduates who made reservations also receive a personalized slide with their name, degree information, and a photo they submitted. These slides will be displayed during the ceremony, and they’re searchable at commencement.wwu.edu.

For more information about Western’s virtual commencement celebration, go to commencement.wwu.edu or contact the Registrar’s Office at commencement@wwu.edu.