My COVID convocation: How grads celebrated in 2020

By Roger Ragoonath
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities Class of 2020

I didn’t know it at the time, but my last official in-person class on campus was on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. I walked out of the classroom saying “see you on Friday” to my friends as I normally would but never did. In the following weeks and months, restrictions and lockdown measures continued to roll out and I ended my student experience at Ontario Tech in a virtual setting. But I did it! I officially from our university’s Communication & Digital Media Studies program in June 2020.

While I did get some thrill hitting submit on my last take-home exam, it wasn’t as exciting as partying after your last exam with friends or walking across the stage at convocation. To substitute for the lack of celebration with friends and family at an in-person ceremony, I decided to celebrate graduating in my own way.

I’ve had my graduation cap and gown from my high school graduation sitting in my closet for four years, and it was now time to let it shine again. To make up for not being able to walk across the stage, I decided to have my own at-home ceremony. The first thing I needed was a degree, so I rolled up a piece of paper and put an elastic band around it. The second thing I needed was someone’s hand to shake on stage while accepting my degree. This was a moment my dog, Bruzer, has been waiting for. He’s been practicing the shake-a-paw trick for years, and now is the most practical time to put it to use. While he got a little impatient with me capturing the video, he did his best. You can see the results of my ceremony below:

Of course, no graduation ceremony is complete without a reception. And we all know that the most important part of a reception is the food. Since I was hosting my own reception, I was able to pick whatever food I’d like. With this in mind, I decided to go with my personal favourite, chicken fingers and fries!

I also needed a venue for my reception. As I had been social distancing in my house for quite some time, I decided an outdoor reception would be perfect. I grabbed take-out chicken fingers and fries from Jack Astors and headed to the Waterfront Trail/Kiwanis Heydenshore Park in Whitby. The weather was perfect. I got some fresh air, the food was delicious, and overall my reception was 5 out of 5 stars. Needless to say, I had to snap some pictures to remember the occasion:

While a convocation ceremony with friends, family, professors, and others who supported our university journey will be missed, we can all find our own ways to celebrate our achievements. Whether you dedicate a night to celebrating with those in your household, enjoy your favourite take-out food, or safely do a hobby or activity that you enjoy, I’d definitely encourage everyone to take some time to reflect and celebrate completing your university degree. A huge congratulations to the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 for finishing university! I hope to see you all at our virtual convocation and faculty reception, and hopefully in person again sometime soon.