During his open forum on March 9, Schulz announced that this year’s graduation will be on a Saturday morning at Fullerton College’s Sherbeck Field instead of the Fullerton High School Stadium.
FC’s commencement ceremony is typically held at Fullerton High School across from campus, but due to a revised calendar this year, the high school is unable to accommodate any of the college’s proposed commencement ceremony dates.
This prompted the college administration to look at other on and off campus alternatives.
“We looked at options on and off campus, consulted with different people and decided that the best option was to host the commencement ceremony on campus,” said Fullerton College Vice President Richard Storti. “The next question was, where?”
It quickly became evident that Sherbeck Field has the most conducive layout to host the ceremony.
Having commencement on campus means preparations will be different from previous years, but the planning committee members have several years of commencement and event planning experience.
In order to accommodate the anticipated 6,000 to 6,500 guests, the commencement team will bring in additional seating and have ample designated parking on campus.
“For planning we are right there,” said Schulz about the progress on commencement preparations. “We are just about done with all the planning, but certainly have a few details to iron out.”
The excitement and pride of the administration about hosting an on-campus commencement is glaring.
“There is something very special about having our commencement on campus,” said Schulz. “There’s a lot of excitement about hosting the commencement here from beginning to the end.”
Although graduation is typically on a Friday, the graduation ceremony committee spoke to various administrators and Fullerton College staff and settled on a Saturday morning.
Fullerton High School’s graduation is scheduled for Friday, May 27, across the street, which means heavy traffic moving in and out of the campus grounds. In a bid to be considerate of the high school and college graduates, guests and neighborhood residents, FC opted for Saturday, May 28, at 10:30 a.m.
A Saturday morning ceremony could mean lighter traffic getting in and out of campus grounds and relatively cooler temperatures during the ceremony.
Preparations are well underway and according to FC administration, if the event works well, it will likely become the permanent location for FC’s graduation ceremonies.
After speaking to both the college president and vice president, one thing was evident: Commencement is more than just a ceremony. It is a feeling of community and pride that they want each student to have leaving the college.
