Commencement 2022 Information - Northern New Mexico College

For Northern Faculty, Staff, Students, Regents, and Guests
Northern’s 2022 Commencement Ceremonies, Saturday, May 14, 2022

Welcome to Commencement 2022! We are excited to join with community to celebrate three years of our graduates in person!

While we will not require proof of vaccination to attend Commencement ceremonies, NNMC remains committed to mitigation of the COVID-19 virus. We continue to require vaccinations for our employees and on-campus students, and we strongly recommend vaccinations and boosters for everyone in our community. Please be advised that there may be temperature checks before entering the gym, and masks and hand sanitizer will be available. We ask that everyone kindly consider others who may be more vulnerable to the virus and its variants, and please consider wearing a mask.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Time and Location: All Commencement events are held in the NNMC Eagle Gymnasium.

MORNING Ceremony at 9 am:For Business Administration, Teacher Education and Language & Letters graduates.
AFTERNOON Ceremony at 3 pm: Arts & Human Sciences, Biology, Chemistry & Environmental Science, Engineering & Technology, Mathematics, and Nursing & Health Sciences graduates.

Photographs: The Grad Team will take pictures of graduates when crossing the stage and after exiting the platform. We will provide a card for your name and contact information, and soon after commencement The Grade Team will contact you with photo proofs. Their website is www.thegradteam.com and phone number is 833-469-4723 x0. If you have questions, please contact the Registrar’s Office at (505)747-2115 or commencement@nnmc.edu.

Children: Children are welcome to attend this wonderful celebration. However, keep in mind the ceremony may last a couple of hours and children may become restless.

Disability Accommodations: We want to make sure that everyone who wishes to participate can do so. If you or a member of your family needs auxiliary aids or services to participate in Commencement, please contact Verna Trujillo in the Accessibility Resource Center at (505) 747-2152, v.trujillo@nnmc.edu or at 921 Paseo de Oñate, Española, NM 87532. Some special supports such as ASL interpreters take time to arrange, so please make sure to notify the Accessibility Resource Center as soon as possible if you or a member of your family will need special support.

INFORMATION FOR REGENTS, FACULTY, AND ADMINISTRATORS

Board of Regents will arrive by 8:30 am for the morning ceremony at the Eagle Gymnasium where commencement staff will distribute your cap, gown, tassel, and hood. For the afternoon ceremony, please arrive by 2:30 pm.

Faculty will arrive by 8:30 am with appropriate regalia. For the afternoon ceremony, please arrive by 2:30 pm.

Processional Line: Faculty will line up by Department. Faculty marshals will lead the processional line from the staging area in the Eagle Gym to the seating area.

Commencement Opening: The Provost will announce the opening of the ceremony. Remain standing until the conclusion of the national anthem. (Men remove their caps during the anthem.)

Commencement Programs: Commencement programs will be distributed to graduates and guests as they are seated in the gymnasium.

Recessional Line: When the ceremony is finished, the platform party will exit the stage first, followed by faculty and administrators. Commencement marshals will guide you.

INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS

Important: Please leave your valuables (purses, backpacks, etc.) with your family or friends. There is no place to store them securely.

Commencement Rehearsal: Commencement rehearsal will begin promptly at 6:00 pm, Friday, May 13, in the Eagle Gym, lasting about one and a half hours. It is important that all graduates attend so that you know what is expected at Commencement.

Arrival Time and Location: Graduating students will begin checking-in at 8:00 am for the morning ceremony and 2pm for the afternoon ceremony. Report to the Gym, where signs will direct you to the student check-in area. Please do not be late; the ceremonies begin at exactly 9:00 am and 3:00 pm.

Processional and Seating: Department assistants will line graduates up by department, and degree, from certificate to bachelor’s degree. Commencement marshals will escort graduating students into the Gym. Everyone will remain standing through the National Anthem. Male graduates remove their caps at the beginning of the anthem and replace them after the anthem.

Caps and Gowns: Wear or bring your regalia to the commencement. Remember, the caps, gowns, and tassels that you have purchased are yours to keep after the Commencement exercises. Wear your cap straight so that it covers your forehead and place your tassel on the left, front corner of your cap.

Name Cards: You will receive your name card and a photo card when you check in. Make certain that you keep them with you.

Presentation of Candidates: The Assistant Provost will ask the candidates to rise according to their department. Marshals will direct students to the platform row by row. You will give your name card to the Assistant Provost when you approach the stage. The Assistant Provost will announce your name, degree, and honors as you walk across the stage. When you receive your diploma cover, pause to allow the professional photographer to take your picture, exit the stage, then move to the photography area for your portrait. You will give your photo card to the photographer. Then return to your seat. After all graduates are seated, the reader will ask you to move your tassel from the left side of your cap to the right side.

Recessional: Graduates will stand when the recessional music begins. The platform party will lead the recessional, followed by the faculty, and then the graduates. Commencement Marshals will direct your exit, starting with the first row of students.

INFORMATION FOR GUESTS

Parking: Parking lots are located throughout the campus to accommodate guest parking.

Arrival Time: Guests may begin arriving at 8:00 am for the morning ceremony and 2:00 pm for the afternoon ceremony. Ceremonies will begin promptly at 9:00 am and 3:00 pm.

Seating: Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis; no tickets are required. Please follow commencement marshals’ directions to guest seating areas. Once you have been seated, please remain in your seats, so that the ceremony can proceed without interruptions.

Recessional: Please remain standing and allow the faculty and students to exit the stage area first. Commencement marshals will direct your exit. Go directly to the reception area. Students will join their guests after they greet their instructors.

Photographs: Professional photographers will take pictures of students as they cross and exit the platform. Guests will have many chances to take photographs before and after the ceremony. For the safety of the graduates and to allow all guests to see the ceremony, please follow the commencement marshal’s direction for taking photographs. We ask that no one block aisles or stay for an extended time near the front of the stage.

Electronic Devices: Please silence your phones, pagers, pads, and other electronic devices.

SAFETY & SECURITY

We ask that no backpacks or large handbags/containers be brought into the gym on Commencement Day. Camera bags, and other necessary bags may be subject to search at the door prior to them being allowed into the gymnasium. This screening is being done as a security measure for everyone’s protection

For more information about the Commencement Ceremony, please contact the Registrar’s office at commencement@nnmc.edu, (505)747-2138. The Registrar’s Office is in the Administration building on the Española campus.