Pride radiated from Hayward Field as the graduating Ducks of 2010 strode around the track as a symbol of their achievements. Families and friends cheered with thunderous ovation during what is known as the Duck Walk at the University Graduation Celebration.
The Duck Walk is a new event, among many others, for the graduation ceremony.
“Graduation day is such a happy occasion, and it is a joy and honor to plan such an important day in the lives of students and their families,” said Amber Duncan, director of family programs and commencement.
“It’s meant to be just a fun, festive atmosphere for everybody to enjoy the day,” Duncan said. “We wanted to make it fun and something people wanted to see on campus.”
But commencement planning takes hard work. It’s a yearlong process “to make sure that we’ve captured everything,” Duncan said, and it requires significant detail and thorough preparation to make sure nothing goes wrong.
All the work begins with Duncan, who has been in this position for five years, and David McCandless, the interim assistant director of family programs and commencement, who has been in this position since Nov. 1.
It is their responsibility to set up all the spaces for all the departments’ ceremonies, 40 ceremonies total, and to coordinate the events at the University Graduation Celebration and Grad Fest, which invites vendors, musicians and more to provide entertainment for the graduating seniors and their families. Then Duncan and McCandless have to make sure that the Duck Walk runs accordingly and that they contact everyone involved.
Of course, they don’t work alone.
“It would be impossible for one person to do it all,” McCandless said.
Preparing for graduation and commencement ceremonies requires the involvement of the faculty of the business office, the financial aid office, the Alumni Association, the student affairs departments, the administrative departments, the athletic department, the music department, the theatre department, the facilities department, the Department of Public Safety, outside vendors, volunteers and the coordinators within each college or department.
“Honestly, it’s been a lot of fun,” McCandless said. “I mean, it’s event planning on a really large scale. And who doesn’t like event planning?”
Every detail must be accounted for, from renting shuttles and an ambulance in case of emergency to making sure there will be food, entertainment, photographers and decorative flowers, to sending notices to students with update plans.
Last year there were several notable changes, big and small, and the start of new traditions and the revival of one of decades ago, all of which had to be accounted for during planning. A few changes that occurred last year and have carried on to this year were the construction of a large “O” on the gate of Hayward Field, which everyone gets to walk through, a decorative mortarboard contest hosted by the Duck Store and green, biodegradable gowns for graduates.
“It’s exciting to be planning that again for this year,” Duncan said, “and knowing that it’s going to be even more successful.”
With all of this in mind, what happens if something goes wrong?
McCandless explained that McArthur Court in June, where some departmental ceremonies will be held, sometimes gets hot. “Inevitably we’ll have a couple folks faint in there, and the paramedics tend to them,” he said.
To McCandless’ knowledge, there have not been any serious incidents in past years.
“We plan ahead with all of our relevant campus and community partners, so that if there is something that would go wrong, we would be ready to respond to it,” he said. “Typically the biggest worry is rain. (But) as far as rain goes, our plan is rain or shine we move ahead because we are Ducks.”
Brandy Dominguez
freelance reporter
[email protected]
Commencement: All in a year’s work
Daily Emerald
May 17, 2011
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