My volunteering experience during commencement

Photos by: CUNY School of Professional Studies.

CUNY SPS Commencement Ceremony 2019

This past May, our largest graduating class ever – 850 students – received their degrees and certificates. As you can imagine, this great feeling and sense of accomplishment represented the highlight for every student. And I volunteered to make it a success!

Our school is unique; our classmates are diverse; and on that day, I recall meeting only five of my classmates in person. For those who are not familiar, I am taking a Masters in Data Science, and my curriculum is 100% online.

When I learned that volunteers were needed during commencement, I thought of the great opportunity and importance of giving back; also, I thought of the possibility of meeting my graduating classmates whom I have spent years studying in a virtual world, even if it was for a minute!

Since I consider myself to be social, and one aspect of life that I enjoy the most is to have human interactions with people whom I consider relevant to my core values, I decided to contact the commencement team, and offered myself as a volunteer.

During commencement, I witnessed how hundreds of students, family members and friends with smiling faces, walked or even ran to get to their assigned spaces. My job was to greet and guide and it was a fascinating role I truly enjoyed. My partner was Leonard Blades, M.S. Disability Services in Higher Education student, and a representative in our CUNY SPS Student Association.

Greatest Feeling of Achievement

I experienced the greatest feeling of achievement while greeting, meeting and congratulating my 2019 graduating classmates. Also, I experienced an understanding of meaningful teamwork, for which all combined energies of volunteers contributed to a great event.

“This year’s event was certainly one to remember, and that was all because of the work that volunteers put into making the day great for our graduates.” stated Heather Zeman, Events Manager at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. “You create a supportive, celebratory atmosphere and in doing so, you make sure that every graduate knows that both collectively and individually, we are proud of them and what they had accomplished.”

On a personal note, I highly encourage others to volunteer and witness history revealed in front of your eyes.

Whom to Contact for Volunteering opportunities

If you would love to volunteer and experience the excitement and fulfillment of commencement with your classmates, you can contact the commencement team at the CUNY School of Professional Studies by email at [email protected].

“It’s not an understatement to say that commencement can not succeed without volunteers like you.” – Heather Zeman.

The 2019 CUNY SPS commencement ceremony took place on Wednesday, May 29, at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, with the ceremony beginning at 7:00 pm.

To see the CUNY SPS pictures from this and previous events, you can see them here.