Hundreds of students are preparing to don their gowns and cross the stage on Fiske Quad as Commencement 2024 is nearly upon us.
Joe Britton, supervisor for the grounds, spoke to the team’s preparations for commencement.
“We’ve been prepping since last fall where we plant the flower bulbs and just taking the mine, trimming trees, hazard trees, we tried to mulch this area, weed it, so it’s more presentable to the public, to our students and their families,” Britton said.
In addition to planning months in advance, Britton’s teams’ work extends right up until the day of commencement.
“Our Monday morning [before commencement] starts off at 6:00 A.M., we’ll mow the entire Fiske Quad an inch and a half to keep it short … All the chairs are lined out, they actually all have to be zip-tied together for assembly permit for large crowds,” Britton said.
In total, he explained there were about 7,000 zip-ties that needed to be put on the chairs.
Starting at the beginning of April, all events official or unofficial are not permitted to occur on the quad because of the preparation process.
After the gates and chairs are installed, next comes the stage installation and sound technology, Britton said.
Concrete barriers are also put up to ensure no vehicular hazards come into play, as well as parking regulations the day of to ensure there are no bottlenecks with the increase in traffic.
As campus approaches the big day, students are preparing to either go off into the professional workforce or dive into post-graduate studies.
Senior Brooke Richards, student body president, says she will be leaving the nest for graduate school in another state.
“I am excited for this chapter to end and to start a new chapter and it is definitely sad knowing I have to move out of my college apartment and leave Keene because that’s all I’ve known for the past four years,” Richards said.
Richards, looking to earn her master’s in communications, said graduate school will certainly be a change of pace for her given her involvement at Keene State.
“While I am super involved and I really care about things that I’m doing, I know that the main reason that I was at Keene State was for my academics and to do really well and excel,” Richards said.
The graduating class of 2024 will leave the college at a much different time than when they went in, having graduated high school after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and entering campus at a time of uncertainty.
“I feel we were really adaptable with that and I think that will make us stronger in the future after we graduate because we’re going to be more acceptable to change, especially big changes like that because we’ve already had to do that,” Richards explained.
As for advice for her fellow graduating seniors, Richards said the key is an optimistic attitude.
“Just stay positive and know that it’s going to get better,” Richards said.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
nhope@kscequinox.com
