Commencement
MAKING HISTORY
VIRTUAL COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY HONORS 2020 GRADUATES Commencement 2020 was one for the record books. With the COVID-19 pandemic in full force and social distancing orders in place, the college promised to postpone the in-person commencement ceremony for its 2020 graduating class. To honor the graduates on the original Commencement date of May 8, an all-online “virtual” ceremony was conducted in “real time” via the SBCC website. A simultaneous YouTube version included a chat feature, offering friends, family, faculty and staff members the opportunity to cheer on their graduates with encouraging comments and emojis.
Featured Commencement speakers included President/Superintendent Dr. Utpal K. Goswami, Academic President Patricia Stark and Student Commencement Speaker Isabel Agundis. Presentation of the candidates and diplomas followed, led by Dr. Goswami and Vice President of Educational Services Dr. Pamela Ralston, as slides displaying the names and degrees of each student were presented in succession to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance.” Said Patricia Stark, “We know that every pandemic since the Black Plague has violently reshaped civilizations —
education, sanitization, the arts, even social hierarchies — and despite the bleakness of our current environment, I believe the opportunity lies before us, and not just the privileged few.” “I have great hope that despite where we are today,” said Dr. Goswami, “your future is going to be bright. It may have to take a little bit of a detour to some other parts that you never expected to go … and then you’ll be back on your path to success and your ambitions.” The class of 2020 totaled 1,752 graduates and 4,325 degrees and certificates.
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| 2019-2020 Report to the Community
