St. Clair College will hold its Virtual Convocation Thursday, June 17, for more than 5,000 graduates during eight sessions.
All eight sessions can be viewed beginning at 3 pm at www.stclaircollege.ca/convocation/virtual.
The schools represented will be: Academic Studies Chatham, Community Studies, Engineering Technologies, Apprenticeship and Skilled Trades, Health Sciences & Nursing (including Chatham), Media Art & Design, Business and Information Technology and Ace Acumen Academy.
Students who received Academic Medals from each of their schools will also be recognized.
The convocation ceremonies will include messages from St. Clair College President Patti France, Board of Governors Chair Nancy Jammu-Taylor, Alumni President Andrew Rowberry, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff and Ross Romano, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
Graduates will receive two lapel pins, one from the Alumni Association and another from the College depicting Gryphon Wings, the school's official emblem.
College President Patti France told the graduates in her message to them that the wings signify their "innate and undeniable quality to excel at whatever challenge is presented."
France said the graduates showed great perseverance in the face of adversity as they completed their studies during a global pandemic.
"Remarkably, throughout the pandemic, St. Clair has achieved our highest ever enrolment levels and staged several Convocations featuring our largest ever graduating classes," President France said. "This week's ceremonies will add to those numbers, as over 5,000 new graduates will be added to our half-century of 120,000 alumni. We very much regret that, again, we will have to stage an online ceremony for these exceptionally dedicated students. But they will be recognized with a newly designed lapel pin as a token of our esteem for their persistence in pursuing - and completing - their educations in the midst of a global crisis."
All students were offered the opportunity to submit a slide, with a photo and a quote, to be included in the virtual convocation.
All slides will be available to download once the ceremony is live at 3 pm, and they will be available to share on social media.
Graduates and their families are also encouraged to share the ceremony via social media using the hashtags #sccgrad2021 and #saintsnation.