April 6, 2021

FGC to Celebrate Spring Graduates in Multiple In-Person Ceremonies

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Once again, Florida Gateway College will honor Spring 2021 graduates in smaller, in-person ceremonies over multiple days in the Levy Performing Arts Center, giving students a full graduation experience, while also adhering to health and safety guidelines.

Graduates will have the opportunity to celebrate with their families and classmates all that they have achieved under the extraordinary circumstances of the past year. They and their guests will hear from featured speakers, including members of the FGC Board of Trustees and representatives of the graduating class, in live and recorded speeches.

This year’s Spring ceremonies will celebrate more than 280 graduates receiving a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree, or certificate from FGC. As before, masks will be required for all attendees and CDC-recommended distancing and sanitization practices will be in place.

FGC introduced these small ceremonies in June of 2020. While COVID-19 made the college’s traditional commencement ceremonies in the Howard Center impossible, college administrators believed that holding live, in-person celebrations of academic achievement was important for the students and their families. During the Summer and Fall of 2020, a total of 23 live ceremonies were held with 8-10 graduates each and a maximum of 6 family and friends per student.

The response from graduates, their families, and the community to the small, intimate ceremonies has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The feedback from families and the graduates has been that these graduations are special and that we should always have them this way in the future,” said FGC President Dr. Lawrence Barrett. “For me to be able to see the faces and success of these students in a small setting throughout the ceremony makes an already special occasion that much more so.”

The Spring 2021 Commencement Ceremonies will be held on May 4th, 6th, and 7th beginning at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m., and 7 p.m. each day with 15 graduates at each ceremony. More sessions may be added as these 12 ceremonies have already reached capacity. All ceremonies will be televised live on FGCTV (local Comcast channel 8) and streamed live on the Florida Gateway College Facebook page.