Commencement 2022

About This Project

As part of my role as Academic Advisor at Columbia College, I oversaw the base wide commencement ceremony. The commencement in GTMO is much different than any other Columbia College ceremony. Due to COVID-19 there had not been a graduation ceremony hosted on base since 2019. Additionally although I worked for Columbia College, as the only higher education institution present on base, the ceremony was for all college graduates not just CC students.

Details

Commencement Ceremony

2022

Tools

Canva

Outlook

In- Person Communication

Online Advertising

My Role

Compiled documents from previous GTMO graduations
Discussed with other CC locations their Graduation process
Facilitated meeting with Regional Director and Senior Programs Coordinator from Main Campus.
Met with Alumni and discussed their graduation ceremony from 2019
Promoted Graduation on Base Radio, Community Facebook Page and Weekly Roller
Assembled a list of Base Graduates
Connected with Navy College Representative
Worked with on-base faculty and color guard
Organized reservation of the ceremony space via CO office, and submitted request for CO to speak at Graduation
Reserved chairs and table as well as coordinated day of set up
Facilitated refreshment delivery and local photographer to capture picture the day of
Created Invitations for Graduates as well as name cards
Designed day of guide and mock diplomas
Organized thank you goodie bags for Faculty, CO's Office, and Color Guard
Worked with base POA for Graduate of the Week campaign

Verifying Headcount

The first step to organizing the graduation ceremony was to get a head count of students who would like to participate. The Graduation ceremony was hosted for all base graduates not just Columbia College Students. I had 4 students reach out about wanting to attend. In order to verify their graduation I had them send me a copy of their unofficial transcript and name of their Academic Advisor. Recruitment of students happened via online advertisement on Guantanamo Bay Social Media accounts. I also announced graduation via the base radio on Open Line. Word of mouth was also effective in informing students of their opportunity to graduate.

Invitations

Once I knew how many graduates I was going to have I began organizing the logistics of the event. I communicated via phone, email and in-person communication to many key players in helping me coordinate the reservations and set up for the event. My next step once we had a venue was to send out invitations to the graduates. The Graduates then reached out to their guests and we had over 40 people attend the ceremony.

The Ceremony

Set Up

The day of the graduation ceremony I facilitated the pick up and set up of the chairs and table. I also organized picking up and transporting balloons, refreshments and decorations. The challenge of the space was the wind and rain made it difficult for decorations to stay in place.

For the ceremony, we had the base CO present the degrees with the assistance of guest faculty member Dr. Gonzales. I also organized the base color guard to be present during the ceremony. The CO and Dr. Gonzales both gave speeches and also allowed the graduates to give a speech as well. We had over 40 guests in attendance to celebrate out 4 graduates

Graduate of the Week

After the graduation ceremony I created a recruitment campaign. Promoting not only the success of the student but also the opportunity they have for completing their degree while stationed at Guantanamo Bay. In the campaign I highlighted the students own word detailing their success and the university they attended to obtain their degree.

Thank You

After the graduation ceremony I made thank you goodie bags to give to the offices that helped make the graduation such a success. I also wrote thank you notes and delivered these to the offices. My favorite part about the graduation ceremony was being able to give students the opportunity to be recognized and celebrate all the hard work they have achieved.

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