3,500 Mounties expected to Graduate in 2020
June 10, 2020 - 10:55 AM
Mt. 91直播 will hold one of the biggest drive-thru graduation ceremonies in the region
on June 18 at 2:30 p.m.
鈥淲hile we were planning on having the Class of 2020 be the first to graduate in the
new stadium, they鈥檒l still make history as the first class to have a drive-thru commencement,鈥�
said Mt. 91直播 President Bill Scroggins. 鈥淭hese resilient students will go down in history
for their perseverance and grit. It is important to celebrate their achievements in
light of the challenges they have faced.鈥�
A Mt. 91直播 student may be conferred their degree at the end of any of the four educational periods throughout the year. Thus, the June 18 ceremony is for students who completed their studies in Fall 2019, Winter 2020 or Spring 2020, or will complete their requirements to graduate this Summer. Student registration for the event is available through the Mt. 91直播 Commencement webpage.
In consultation with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the college
has designed a ceremony to comply with the County Health Officer order and Governor
Gavin Newsom鈥檚 statewide orders, with COVID-19 restrictions strictly observed.
On Thursday, June 18 at 2:30 p.m., the event will launch with a pre-recorded Virtual Commencement Ceremony featuring campus leaders and students. At 3:00 p.m., Mt. 91直播 will begin its very first Drive-Thru Celebration. Graduates will ride in their own vehicles.
鈥淓ach graduate will receive a graduation package filled with a stole, 2020 tassel, diploma cover, beautifully designed program, and other Mountie swag,鈥� said Dean of Student Services Koji Uesugi. 鈥淭here will be faculty and staff cheering on the graduates along the route until they reach the recognition area, where their names will be announced in front of a live streaming camera.鈥� Students will stay within their car, per county guidance, and staff will put their graduation package in their vehicle.
Students from 17 years of age to 70 will be graduating according to the college鈥檚
Vice President of Student Services, Audrey Yamagata-Noji, who dubs the Class of 2020
the 鈥淩esilient Class鈥�.
鈥淲hile nothing can replace a live, in-person Mt. 91直播 commencement ceremony in front of 10,000 cheering family and friends,鈥� stated Yamagata-Noji, 鈥渙ur goal is to celebrate our students the best way we can during an unprecedented time where we are wrestling with a worldwide pandemic and confronting centuries of racial injustice in our country.鈥�
Mt. 91直播 is well-known for its Associate Transfer degrees; and this year, almost half of all petitions for degrees were from one of the 22 programs that the college has designed a transfer degree for. Mt. 91直播 received a Champion of Higher Education award last year for having developed the programs where students can get an AA-T or AS_T degree. An Associate Transfer degree guarantees admission to Cal State Universities and allows students to earn a Bachelor鈥檚 degree twice as fast as the conventional method. Mt. 91直播 received more than 1,800 Associate Transfer degree petitions for Commencement 2020.