2024 Commencement

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2024! STCC is proud of your remarkable work and resilience in reaching this significant milestone.

Commencement will be held at the MassMutual Center on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Because it will take some time to get everyone in order and provide any last minute instructions, please plan to arrive at Exhibition Hall no later than 5:00 p.m. Use the Main Street Entrance. These doors will open at 5:00 p.m. All guests are to use the Box Office Entrance to the MassMutual Center on Bruce Landon Way. Those doors will open promptly at 5:30 p.m. Guests should proceed directly to the event. No guests will be allowed to enter the building prior to 5:30 p.m. Only graduates are allowed to enter early through the Main Street Entrance on the corner of Main Street and Bruce Landon Way. 

Student Speaker

It is the Scholarships and Awards Committee’s pleasure to invite members of the class of 2024 to audition to be the student graduation speaker at the STCC Commencement exercises on Thursday, May 30th at the MassMutual Center. Please understand that although we all look forward to hearing your speech at the audition, we are requiring a sample writing assignment to be submitted by May 10, 2024. The in-person auditions will tentatively be on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

As for the details of the graduation speech, your remarks should be approximately three to four minutes in length. Before you begin to address the audience, it is customary to acknowledge the stage party, the faculty, staff, relatives, friends, and the graduating class of 2024. The content of the speech is, of course, up to you to decide on; however, please consider that you are speaking to a very diverse audience. Therefore, remarks that are more generic and motivational rather than personal are more effective. Highlighting how your experience at STCC has served you to make a closer link to your future goals would be an appropriate personal connection in the speech.  

If you would like to audition as the graduation speaker, please submit your sample writing assignment to cfuller@stcc.edu or rgtetrault@stcc.edu by May 10, 2024.

Commencement Speaker

Caps and Gowns

Caps and gowns will be available for pickup on Thursday, May 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Friday, May 24 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, May 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They can be picked up in the Office of Student Activities in the Ira H. Rubenzahl Student Learning Commons (B19)/Room 126. There is no need to be measured in advance for your gowns. There is no charge for caps and gowns.

Parking

The Civic Center Parking Garage is currently closed and under construction on Bruce Landon Way. Free parking is available at the MGM Springfield Parking Garage. Parking is also available at the Tower Square & Columbus Center parking garages and other downtown area garages (there is a fee charged for these parking areas).

Ceremony

Tickets are not required for guests of the ceremony. There is no limit to the number of guests you may invite. Additional information concerning the organization of the ceremony will be distributed to you when you pick up your cap and gown. The ceremony will take approximately 2 ¼ hours. Please see the MassMutual Center Map for more details.

Ceremony Instructions

Please read carefully. Because there is no rehearsal, it is important that you read these instructions and reminders:

• Be at the MassMutual Center no later than 5:00 p.m. Use the Main Street entrance on the corner of Main Street and Bruce Landon Way, to Exhibition Hall. The Main Street entrance is for graduates only. Guests use the Box Office entrance on Bruce Landon Way. It will open promptly at 5:30 p.m.
• Upon entering the Main Street entrance, you will be directed to line-up alphabetically by your last name to receive your name card; PLEASE NOTE: If you have been awarded honors, an Honors tassel will be given to you at this time also.
• Please do not bring valuables with you, there will be no place for you to store them during the ceremony.
• All cell phones should be silenced during the ceremony.
• All graduates are expected to remain until the end of the ceremony.
• When you enter Exhibition Hall there will be signs with department names. Go to your department.
• When it is time to hand out diplomas the student marshals will lead the way. Follow their lead.
• When it is your turn to receive your diploma, hand the name card to the name caller. Wait for your name to be called, and walk up the ramp to receive your diploma.
•  Please note, you will be presented with a diploma cover—but not a degree or certificate. When you receive your diploma cover during the ceremony it will be blank. Don’t Panic! If you completed your graduation requirements in summer of 2023 or January 2024, your degree or certificate has already been mailed to you. If you complete your graduation requirements in May 2024, you can expect to receive your degree or certificate in the mail within four to six weeks of the ceremony. If you complete your graduation requirements by August 2024, you will receive your degree or certificate in mid October. You will receive an email notification when your diploma has been shipped. If you have any questions about your graduation status, please contact the Registrar’s Office at 413-755-4321 or registrar@stcc.edu.
• Once the ceremony has ended and graduates have marched out of the arena, you will be free to leave the MassMutual Center. Please arrange to meet your family and friends in a specific location outside the building after the ceremony has concluded.

Photography 

The College has engaged the services of a professional photographer to take pictures of each graduate as s/he receives their diploma.  Proofs of the pictures will be mailed to you several weeks after Commencement. You are under no obligation to purchase photos.  Please note that because we have a professional photographer, no one will be allowed on the floor of the MassMutual center to take pictures during the ceremony.

Accessibility

An American Sign Language Interpreter will be present at the Commencement Ceremony.

Graduates: If you are a graduate with a disability and need special accommodations for the Commencement Ceremony, please notify the Office of Disability Services at 413-755-4785 by May 8, 2024.

For the General Public: The MassMutual Center has reserved seating sections available for individuals who use wheelchairs or who have mobility limitations. A MassMutual attendant will be able to assist you in locating these sections. The spaces are limited, so please plan accordingly.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED WHEN YOU RECEIVE YOUR CAP AND GOWN.

Livestream

The 2024 Commencement ceremony will be live streamed on YouTube and this webpage.

 

Past Commencement Ceremonies