Commencement Ideas

Location, Location, Location

A commencement ceremony generally takes up quite a bit of space. Not only do you need seating for those graduating, but you also need seating for family, friends, and guests who are attending the ceremony. The ceremony is generally held in the high school or university’s gym, arena, ballroom, chapel, or theatre. This provides ample space for seating and cuts out the problem of inclement weather. Many schools choose to have an outdoor ceremony, in which case you will need to have a back-up location if the weather is bad. If the event is outdoors or if there isn’t enough seating inside, you will need to provide additional seating. If your school doesn’t have enough, locate a chair rental company in your area. Other items you will need to consider renting, if your school doesn’t have the equipment, is a podium and staging. For an event outside, in a gym, or ballroom, etc., you will need to install a stage. There are many portable staging companies who can do this for you.

With all these students milling about and set-up to do, you will need an efficient staff to help you. If your commencement requires setting up chairs and a stage, be sure that the venue has staff that can help set everything up. It takes a long time to set up a couple hundred chairs! You will also want extra staff to help clean up and tear down everything afterwards. This is especially true if you’re having multiple ceremonies in the same venue on the same day. You need a good cleanup crew to pick up any discarded programs and reorganize any shifted chairs before the next ceremony begins. Lastly, you will need staff to help organize the students. Your school probably has a system already in place when it comes to determining the order of the graduates.

School Pride

Now that we’ve chosen a venue and gotten is staffed, it’s time to move on to the decor. Obviously, the color scheme is going to go along with the colors of your school. When it comes to the stage, find a backdrop company who can hang drapery or banners with your school’s colors or logo behind the stage. The podium should be adorned with the school’s seal as well. You can also decorate the outside of the venue with banners that feature your mascot or school logo.

There are a few other services you don’t want to forget about when it comes to your commencement ceremony. Have a portrait photographer on hand to take a photo of the graduate right after they get their diploma holder. The photographer will be set up for when they come off the stage and are getting ready to head back to their seat. Another photographer can be there to take pictures as the graduate is being handed their diploma. These are keepsake pictures that the student will have the option to purchase later. On the same note, you can have a videographer record the ceremony so it would be available to students and their family at a later date. One last service you need is to have the ceremony programs printed. Find a local printer to do these for you.

Choose Your Speaker Wisely

Next up we have entertainment. If you’re school has a band, this is a free option to you when it comes to having a performance. You could also hire a brass band, classical ensemble, or string quartet to perform as well. If you want vocal accompaniment, seek out one of your school’s singing groups, or you can hire an outside a cappella group or choir. A traditional song to begin the commencement ceremony while the graduates are walking in is "Pomp and Circumstance." However, you may want the band playing some music while guests are finding their way to their seats before the ceremony begins. Once everyone is seated, you should start the ceremony with the National Anthem. End the ceremony with your school’s fight song or a graduation song voted on by the students.

Last, but certainly not least, is having a speaker present to the graduates. If this is for a college graduation, find a speaker who applies to that particular school’s field. For example, for the School of Theater, find an arts or entertainment speaker; For the School of Business, hire a success speaker. It is particularly meaningful if you can find a speaker who has found success in their field who is also an alum of the university. This speaker can relate more to your students than anyone else.

This is an important day for the graduates, so make sure to treat it as so. Finding the right speaker and musical accompaniment can make all the difference. Best of luck in planning and keep track of what you did so you can use that as reference for next year’s graduation!