Annual commencement for this college is May 12.
By Maya R Williams
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The official deadline for graduation applications is March 15, but the posted deadline is March 9, and this week is Graduation Push Week.
March 15 is during spring break, but students can still use the online graduation application until March 15.
Cap and gown pick up will take place 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. April 2-6 in Duran Welcome Center.
Commencement will start 10 a.m. May 12 at Freeman Coliseum.
Doors open to the public at 9 a.m., but students participating in commencement must arrive by 7:45 a.m.
Push Week is for all students who want to graduate or see where they are in the graduation process.
“The main focus is to get students to apply so we can get more graduates,” said certified Adviser Phillip Casarez March 2.
Push Week started March 5 with the Hunger Grad Games in the mall where students were treated to free popcorn, corn-hole, giant Jenga, a dunk tank and other activities.
Some distinguished graduates volunteered to be dunked and help with events throughout the week, Casarez said.
A distinguished graduate is a student who has been chosen by academic programs as an outstanding student.
The second Graduation Push Week event was 9-10:30 a.m. March 6 in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center. It was the Cap N’ Coffee Graduation Session.
Advisers met with students and discuss the steps needed to complete graduation.
On March 7 Picture Yourself as a Graduate Photo Booth will be 10 a.m.-noon in the mall.
Students can stop by the photo booth and take a photo with props, such as a cap and gown along with huge sunglasses, a wooden frame and other silly props.
The Grad Rally will be 11 a.m.-1 p.m. March 8 in the mall.
There will be free pizza from Pizza Hut; free graduation shirts made by Dana Morris, the senior multimedia specialist on the college’s public relations team; and DJ Masquerade.
Graduation Push Week was developed to draw attention to graduation and participation in commencement, Casarez said.
Graduation and the commencement ceremony are two different things, he said.
Graduating is the act of getting a degree, and commencement is the ceremony where graduating students walk the stage.
Commencement at this college only happens at the end of the spring semester.
Students who graduate in fall or summer are able to participate in the annual commencement.
The budget for Push Week was $2,500, and the event is under budget, he said.
“We’re trying to put the money where it’s the most beneficial,” Casarez said.
Casarez does not yet know where the extra money will go.
If students need help with graduation application, they should meet with their assigned adviser.
Students who have changed their major or home college and need a new adviser should get in contact with the team lead of their Alamo Institute, and they will be assigned to the proper adviser, he said.
A team lead is the institute manager.
The institutes here are Health and Bioscience Advising, Creative Communication Arts Advising, Business and Public Services, and Science and Technology.
For more information on graduation, visit: www.alamo.edu/sac/graduation-steps/
Here is a PDF version of the graduation application: www.alamo.edu/uploadedFiles/SAC/Student_Services/Counseling-Advising/Graduation/Graduation-Application-2017.pdf
For more information on the Distinguished Graduate Program visit: www.alamo.edu/sac/distinguished-graduates/
