Staff Reports
WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue University is notifying the Class of 2020 that the materials they need to celebrate “the next giant leap in their lives,” will be arriving at their homes soon.
The nearly 7,500 Purdue students earning undergraduate and graduate degrees this spring are being mailed all the essentials needed to host their personal on-demand commencement ceremony in mid-May — even if it is via remote.
Graduates over the next two weeks will receive a creative commencement-in-box, packaged and protected in a coordinated, Purdue-branded gold and black sleeve, stating “This Giant Leap We Take Together.”
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Inside the box from the Office of the Registrar, students will find a diploma holder, commencement program and earned honor cords and medals. The 13-by-10-inch keepsake also will be filled with Boilermaker memorabilia and a flyer on how to download materials for their commencement, which they can watch on-demand with their families at a time best for them.
“The entire Purdue community is rising to the challenge to make our 2020 commencement ceremony memorable and meaningful for all graduating Boilermakers — even if it must be virtual because of these extraordinary times,” said Chris Pass, senior assistant registrar for academic records, commencement and graduation. “We want to acknowledge our students’ persistence and accomplishments, and that their achievement deserves a proper celebration.”
Exercising safety recommendations, Pass said campus teams have worked this week to assemble and pack up to 1,500 commencement boxes daily, ensuring they arrive to graduates’ homes by May 15. That is the original date of Purdue’s in-person commencement. This will give the students and their families time to plan their own digital graduation ceremonies.
Purdue students, parents and family members can visit purdue.edu/commencement/spring2020/?utm_source=flyer&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=may2020 to access more information on how to create an on-demand commencement ceremony.
The website has a graduation checklist that gives graduates a road map for before, during and after the ceremony and how to submit photos and video of participation to the university for inclusion in a commencement commemoration.
