Dear Santa Clara Community,

We write today with further details on our plans to celebrate the Class of 2020. In late March, we shared our difficult decision to postpone our Undergraduate Commencement (note that our graduate schools are holding separate events).  Thereafter, we convened a working group of graduating senior class members, University staff and faculty who brainstormed the format they desired for a celebratory virtual event as well as options for rescheduling the official Commencement. The group surveyed graduating seniors, and the responses clearly indicated a strong preference for an in-person, rescheduled event to be held in Spring 2021, when we hope large gatherings will be permitted again. 

While postponing the official Commencement ceremonies, the working group requested a festive, live streamed virtual celebration to mark the culmination of the Class of 2020’s hard work and accomplishments. We are happy to officially invite our entire community —staff, faculty, students, friends, and family— to our ‘Celebrating the Class of 2020’ virtual celebration on Saturday June 13 at noon PDT (digital invitation attached). The pre-festivities will start at 11:30 a.m., and we encourage families, faculty, staff, and friends to post short videos or social posts honoring the graduates using the hashtags #SCU2020 and #SCUseniors.  

Everyone will be able to view the program for this hour-long event on our Commencement website. Soon, our seniors will receive by mail a celebration box with special mementos for the day. We have planned some exciting surprises for the virtual ceremony. In addition, our website features a ‘digital celebration kit’ to honor our graduates with social media frames, templates, and more. And on June 13, this website will be transformed into an interactive, celebratory hub with videos and social posts as we mark this day and toast our students’ accomplishments. 

We are grateful for the time and commitment of the members of the working group: Issabelle Hayden, Kennedy Myers, Sahil Sagar, Maddie Thompson, and Hayley Trillo from the Class of 2020, joined by faculty member Jerald Enos and staff members Chris Arkley, Joanna Thompson and Duane Voight.

We are so proud of our graduates and look forward to celebrating their school spirit and  achievements both at the virtual ceremony and later at the official Commencement. We wish everyone all the very best in these final days of our spring quarter as classes, projects, and final exams are completed.

Go Broncos!

Lisa A. Kloppenberg
Provost

Kevin O’Brien, S.J.
President