NVU Commencements Celebrated

Northern Vermont University Graduates Class of 2021 through Two Virtual Commencements and Personalized Website

Johnson and Lyndonville, Vt. — Northern Vermont University celebrated the 494 graduates of the Class of 2021 through two Virtual Commencement ceremonies this past weekend, honoring Johnson Campus graduates on Saturday, May 15 and Lyndon Campus graduates on Sunday, May 16. Held as YouTube Premiere events, both celebrations incorporated time-honored commencement traditions into the watch party experiences.

“We celebrated the tremendous milestone our NVU graduates reached this past weekend and are so proud of each and every one of them for their determination to complete their degrees in the midst of a global pandemic,” said NVU President Elaine C. Collins. “We continue to celebrate their collective achievement and wish them all the best as they embark on their next adventures.”

Each Virtual Commencement was guided by a Master of Ceremonies, and included keynote and class speakers, the alma maters for each campus, pipers, drone footage of the campuses and scenic vistas, a reading of graduate names, and celebratory messages from faculty, family, and friends.

The Special Guest Speakers were Dr. François Clemmons (Johnson Campus) and Dr. Henry Parker (Lyndon Campus). The Johnson Campus Student Speakers were Ayodeji Shokeye, Zacharias Clay II, and Alexandra R. Damato, and the Lyndon Campus Student Speaker was Christian Kapoukranidis.

A special Commencement website went live immediately after the YouTube Premier event for each campus, with links to watch individual speeches and the conferring of degrees segment of the ceremony, as well as the entire event. An individual web page was also created for each NVU graduate, recognizing their degree and honors and including messages and pictures provided by students, family and friends. Both the Johnson and Lyndon Virtual Commencement experiences can be accessed via: NorthernVermont.edu/Commencement2021

This year’s Virtual Commencement built upon the Virtual Celebration website created for the Class of 2020, accessible at: NorthernVermont.edu/Celebrate.