Commencement alternatives for Spring 2020 graduates

President Neal Weaver and his wife, Kristi, have a very special announcement they'd like to share with the GSW family, especially our graduating seniors.

"Hi everyone! Isn't this a crazy way to finish a semester? I know as we transition into this online format and all of our lives are disrupted by what's going on across the country that you may be facing challenges, and running into obstacles that you never even knew existed. So during this time, I want to encourage you to reach out to me, contact your faculty members, get in touch with somebody on campus and let us make sure you get connected to the resources and the services that we have available to make sure that you can be successful. Our goal and our priority is making sure that you finish this semester with the great grades and the great attitude that I know you have. 

We know some of you were supposed to graduate in May, and that is such a special time for you and your family and even for us. We're really gonna miss that. So that's why we've created a Virtual Graduation Ceremony that's scheduled for May 15th. That was going to be your day and it's still gonna be your day. We're excited to celebrate with you in a virtual environment. And so we'll be sending you a letter early in May that gives you instructions on how you can participate in the virtual ceremony. It will also include a very special gift available only to graduates of the Spring 2020 Class.

And even though we're doing this virtual ceremony, we still want you to come and celebrate with us in person. That's why we've created a Summer Graduation Ceremony that's scheduled for August 15th. We're going to include the summer graduates at that time as well, but I want to give a special invitation to those graduates from the Spring 2020 Class to come back to campus, put on your cap and gown, and walk across that stage, and let us celebrate with you in person. I'd love to see you, your families, your friends, and all of us get together and make sure we recognize your great accomplishments. We're looking forward to all of this, but please make sure you have somebody record a video of your virtual ceremony and share it with us. We want to see it on social media. We want to see it at Georgia Southwestern. We all want to see it so please share. 

We're looking forward to having you back on campus soon, getting back to normal operations, but for now, I hope you're staying staying connected. I hope you're staying safe. I hope you're staying healthy. And most of all, I hope you're staying connected to your classes, and you're going to finish this semester strong. We're proud of you and looking forward to your success."