Graduation is a senior’s way of celebrating accomplishments, and as with any other celebration, it is always more enjoyable when you have friends and family to share the moment with.
Graduation announcements are a polite, formal and easy way to invite others to your commencement. They come in various designs ranging from simple to extravagant, and they are rather affordable. You can order them online or from professional stores. Numerous websites offer free or inexpensive graduation announcement e-cards as well.
Of course, making them yourself is also an option, and it’s a great way to release your creative juices.
University graduating seniors Charisse Kimura, Dylan Sylwester and Rochelle Bargo explain what to include in them and who to send them to. No matter how you decide to create your graduation announcements, knowing what you want will make the process stress-free.
What to include:
The specific details of your graduation ceremony are a must — this includes the date, time and location. Although Sylwester says much of this entails “three plus hours of people walking and sitting, then walking again in funny-looking green robes,” the information is necessary because it makes it convenient for both you and your guests.
“I think you really do need to include your graduation info, otherwise your graduation announcements are simply asking for money and/or an endless shower of recognition,” Sylwester added. “Including the info at least keeps up the illusion that you want everyone to attend your special day, which I do, I really do.” You do not want to have your guests show up late or confused, and neither do they.
Information on you, the graduating student, should also be included. Make sure your name and degree appear on the announcement. Kimura believes that including your degree is the most important piece of information to include because “it is one of the main questions I am asked as a graduating senior.”
Generally, it is also ideal to include a photo of yourself. Bargo said “a formal, solo photo” should be used. In addition, as Kimura suggested, a portrait-type photo is the best because it allows your friends and family to clearly see your face.
“Many of my relatives I haven’t seen in a while really get a hoot out of seeing just how much I’ve grown up,” Sylwester said, and perhaps, “they want to hang a picture of my beautiful face on their refrigerator.”
How to create them:
As mentioned before, graduation announcements can easily be custom-made by design and printing companies, e-card websites, or even yourself. The Duck Store offers packets of 10 template cards for $14.50, which include a foil-print of the University seal, the 2011 commencement schedule, envelopes and name and degree cards to fill out.
Since ordering them professionally can become quite pricey, making them yourself or having a friend make them for you is a wise alternative if you have the time and tools.
“My girlfriend is a graphic designer, and she’s kindly volunteered to design some graduation announcements, paid for in boyfriend points,” Sylwester said. Also, hand-making your announcements can be fun.
Who to send them to:
For some this may be the most difficult part. You do not want to forget anyone, but you also do not want to make anyone who receives it feel uncomfortable (e.g., a friend you have been out of touch with for years). Kimura said, “I will send them mostly to family members and close family friends who live far away. Some of them will be people I have seen relatively recently, but most of them will be for extended family members whom I rarely see.” Sylwester said it can be “an awkward process because you’re announcing your graduation but you’re also sort of soliciting funds for your future. I don’t like that part.” Making a list that you can look at and revise, and perhaps go over with your parents, is a good idea.
When to send them:
Whether you are sending them through the mail or online, you want to make sure that your invitees receive your announcements well in advance. Giving them time to respond and schedule accordingly is a polite gesture. Therefore, aim to send them out about two to four weeks before the day of your commencement. This is especially important if you have friends who live far away, such as Bargo, who says she will be sending announcements to “some of my parents’ high school friends from the Philippines who have moved to California, and my family friends from Hong Kong who have moved to British Columbia.”
In the midst of completing your last papers and exams, planning for graduation can feel overwhelming.
“Honestly, the announcements are not incredibly important to me, but I know that they are important to my traditionally-minded relatives, especially my grandmother,” Kimura said. “She likes to have something to show the rest of my extended family about my accomplishments, which I find to be a common story from my friends and peers.”
Nevertheless, graduation announcements are a nice way to celebrate the achievement of an educational milestone. Remember to have fun with it because as Sylwester said, “Graduation hits you way too quickly. I don’t feel too different than the bratty little kid I was as a freshman.”
Eri Mizobe
Special Sections Reporter
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