Zach Pearson
Equinox Staff
Barbara Preston, Senior Administrative Assistant to Student Affairs, never imagined that by working for Keene State College she would become a seasoned event planner.
But organizing a graduation ceremony that adequately commemorates the four year accomplishments of over 1000 KSC students is no easy task, and for the past five years it has fallen on her more-than-capable shoulders.
Preston began organizing the 2013 graduation ceremony last May, because as she stated, it “literally takes a year [to plan].”
Contracts have to be updated and there are a massive number of files that are updated with each year’s new information.
The ceremony typically does not change much, but Preston noted that this one required a lot more updates to reflect the interim president, a new provost, and a new dean. While it is still too early to know for sure, Preston estimates there will be over 1,100 students actually participating in the ceremony.
A different guest speaker is booked for every ceremony with Jeanne Shaheen scheduled to speak this year.
Andrew Robinson, Vice President of Student Affairs, said that funds were limited but “Jeanne Shaheen we felt was relevant, interesting to New Hampshire, and didn’t charge any money. She was probably the most well respected biggest name we could get without having to hire someone.”
A notable addition to the 2013 ceremony is a live streaming of the entire event on the KSC website.
Preston said that this has been requested for years, as family members are not always able to make the trip, but “We just didn’t have the technology and we don’t now, but technology exists out there that we can purchase for a short period of time.”
Another change comes in the way students pay their graduation fees.
In past years, students have received a bill in the mail which they pay to help offset the enormous costs.
Preston estimates the total bill for this year’s graduation to be in the range of $90,000 with roughly 40,000 of that covering caps and gowns.
The rest of the money goes into a range of things including 6,400 chairs for guests, 1,200 chairs for faculty, staff, musicians, tents, water for the graduates, security, and flowers.
Robinson confirmed that the usual graduation fees are now “ust part of the fees that students pay every semester. We figure if they’re matriculated students, they intend to graduate; just include it in the fees each semester.”
As has been the case for the past four years, Preston confirmed that the buildings around the quad will be closed starting at 9:00 A.M. on Saturday.
This is done to prevent parents from moving students out of adjacent dorms such as Huntress Hall while hundreds of families scramble onto the quad in search of seating.
The college has also had problems with onlookers causing disturbances from the dorm room windows. Preston said the closed building policy was put in place “A fter a particularly offensive year by guests in attendance.”
The average KSC graduation ceremony can run several hours, but Robinson argued, “It’s nice to have everybody go across the stage. We’re almost too big to do that. It takes a while. But it’s nice to have your moment on the stage.”
Robinson said that weather is always something to worry about, and that one year, the organizers behind the ceremony considered setting up a giant tent on the A-fields, but, “At the time I think the cost was an additional 40 thousand dollars, so spend 40 thousand dollars to have students still be limited in the number of guests they could bring. And students basically said, ‘We’d rather take our chances’.”
Despite the tremendous amount of time she dedicates to the ceremony, Preston recognizes that it is not her day; it’s the students’.
“This is the ceremony that acknowledges your great accomplishment of earning a college degree and that you’re moving onto something else,” Preston said, adding, “And a lot of students get very emotional about it. You’ve been in school for more than 16 years most of you. That’s a long time to know what you’re going to do next September, and that’s not there anymore. I don’t think if you haven’t been to one before, you can understand how much of a celebration it is. How moving it is for everybody who’s in attendance.”
Robinson admitted that he loves graduation because it “not only is a tradition, we’ve been doing it for hundreds of years, but it’s a real acknowledgment of, it’s not an honor, it’s an accomplishment. It’s really something that’s special that not everybody can do. It’s not a month of hard work or a year of hard work. It’s four or five years of hard work.”
Robinson also cited the importance of the ceremony to the parents.
“Often it’s a celebration for parents as well. I mean you’ve earned it. You’ve done the work. But parents have often supported, almost all the time, supported students.”
Alex Odell, a graduating Computer Science major, admitted the ceremony is probably more important to his family.
Odell said “It kind of commemorates everything that you’ve done in the last four years and it gives you that feeling that you are being celebrated.”
Denise Perna, a graduating senior with a double major in Psychology and Spanish, has mixed feelings about the upcoming graduation.
“I’m excited that I’ve completed all four years of my college degree and that I managed to dual major and successfully complete all of my classes but on the other hand I’m also nervous because I don’t know where I’m headed, what I’m doing. So it’s kind of bittersweet.”
Seth Babel, a senior majoring in sustainable product design and nnovation said, “It’s basically a big step into something that you’ve been preparing for four years yet still don’t seem completely confident with going out into the real world.” Jaycelyn Kay-Pfenning said that after five years and two separate degrees in Computer Science and Management at KSC, “I’m excited, and nervous, and can’t wait to get out of here all at the same time,” Kay-Pfenning concluded.
Students are asked to notify Preston no later than Monday if they are planning on participating in the ceremony.
Zach Pearson can be contacted at zpearson@keene-equinox.com