GRADUATION ON TAP: ‘CARMENCEMENT’ ON JUNE 12

Graduation is upon us, and for those of you graduating from MHCC, we commend you. Seriously, you deserve a medal, or at the very least an official sticker, for getting through this pandemic with a degree!

This year’s graduating students will face something quite out of the ordinary during Mt. Hood’s 54th commencement, to be held from about 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 12.

Under ongoing COVID pandemic restrictions, new graduates are invited to walk across the stage as part of Mt. Hood’s CARmencement celebration. What I mean by this is, you will get all the pomp and circumstances you deserve, but in a safer environment. As MHCC continues to follow the advice of public health officials, this year’s commencement will require friends and family to watch from inside their cars, directly in front of the stage. MHCC faculty and staff will line the driving route across campus to cheer the fresh graduates along the way.

Students in vehicles (with friends/family) are to enter the campus via the Stark Street (north side) entrance. They will follow a marked loop to the stage, set up at the north end of the Academic Center wing (Building 17), opposite the Early Childhood Center. (Other arriving graduates will gather nearby.)

Each student will hop out to the stage, receive their diploma and get an official photo opp before departing. Near the Visual Arts Center, there will be two selfie stations for additional, memorable photo opportunities.

Social media posting opportunities, and prerecorded video greetings, and welcoming speeches are part of the plan. The ceremony will be live streamed via MHCC’s Facebook page, and the recording later posted to YouTube.

As of June 3, roughly 200 students had signed up to join the unique celebration.

This event will not be open to the public and only one car per graduate will be allowed – making it a very personal commencement for those graduating amid these historically tough times.

Remember: If you made it through this, you can make it through anything. Congrats!