Thousands expected to attend UBC’s pandemic ‘make-up’ graduation ceremonies

Thousands of grads at the University of British Columbia (UBC) will finally be able to attend their in-person graduation ceremonies this month.

In their “busiest graduation ever,” the university says they will be hosting 33 ceremonies in November, but usually they only have eight.

“Graduation is an important milestone to celebrate the culmination of many years of hard work and dedication for our students,” Liz King, director of ceremonies and events at UBC explained in a news release.

Twenty-five of the ceremonies are for pandemic alumni, those who graduated virtually in 2020 until the spring graduations of 2021.

#UBC welcomes back thousands of alumni for make-up graduation ceremonieshttps://t.co/Bh64rOc6Xr #UBCgrad pic.twitter.com/MIsY7k3w5A

— University of British Columbia (@UBC) November 9, 2022

The remaining eight ceremonies are for current UBC students that are registered to graduate.

The majority of ceremonies will be held at the university’s campus in Vancouver, but a few will take place at the Okanagan campus.

“We are excited to invite back our alumni who did not have the chance to graduate in-person due to the pandemic so that they also get to experience the moment of donning a cap and gown and crossing the stage to celebrate their accomplishments” King said.

According to the school, over 5,600 grads have said they plan to attend — although over 26,000 were invited.

All ceremonies are set to run through the month, starting on Nov. 10 and ending on the 25th.

“We want to make sure the ceremonies are special for all of our alumni and graduating students and their families and friends, especially those who have travelled from far and wide to be here with us for this occasion,” King added.

With files from Robyn Crawford