It’s a moment that most college
students dream about; putting the final touches to their last paper, finishing
up the last part of their final presentation, and answering the last couple
questions on their final exam. Then, once all the stress from school work is
gone, it’s time to walk across that stage, shake your chancellor’s hand, and
get your diploma. You did it. You have graduated college. All of the hard work
that you have put in the last four, five, maybe six plus, years has finally
came to fruition. For some students, that journey does not end by walking
across the stage to receive their diploma. Why?
To find out why such students choose
to not attend the pinnacle of most college student’s careers, I talked to Jan
Snyder, University Services Program Associate and the Chairperson of the
University Staff Committee. She said that as of April 30, 930 students applied
for graduation at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UWGB). Out of those
930 students, only 707 of them signed up to participate in commencement ceremony.
Due to confidentiality reasons, the names of the students who are not attending
were not able to be shown.
Justin Grones, UWGB graduation class
of 2014, chose not to attend the commencement ceremony last year, and he says
now that it is something that he truly regrets. “I didn't walk because I knew I
was going to the law enforcement academy, and knew I'd be walking at that
graduation. I kind of treated my time at UWGB as a "stepping stone"
and didn't make it as big of a deal as I should have. When I was at my wife's
graduation in December it totally made me regret not walking.”
Brent Haack, a member of the UWGB
graduating class of 2016, says that he also plans not to attend the
commencement ceremony next spring either. “I run my own landscaping and lawn
care business, and early springtime like that is when I am the busiest. I
cannot afford to miss out on a day of work to sit through a boring, three hour
long ceremony. I’m proud of my accomplishment, but to me it just doesn’t seem
worth it,” said Haack.
Snyder says the reasons from students
for not coming to the commencement ceremony varies from student to student. She
said the more common reasons include online students who don’t live in the
Green Bay area aren’t always willing to make the trip for a long ceremony like
that, students making other prior commitments such as weddings, vacations, etc.
and some students are uncomfortable going on stage in front of a large
audience. The reasons go on from those, but each student has their own special
reason why they choose to not walk across that stage during the commencement
ceremony.
On the other side of the coin, there
are many students who do walk across the stage at commencement and are very
passionate about their decision. Most students do it because they want to show
off all their hard word they put in over the past four to five years. Micaella
Schneider, UWGB class of 2015 graduate said “I am walking for the ceremony
because only 1% of the world's population get a college degree and I am honored
to have earned that.” Kaitlyn Bouvette, another member of the UWGB class of
2015 added to that saying “I'm walking because I earned it and the people in my
life want to see what I've accomplished.” For other students, it’s a matter of
life or death. “I worked my a** off for 4 years so I wouldn't miss walking
across the stage. And my mom would kill me if I didn't,” says Laura Maslanka,
another member of the UWGB class of 2015.
All kidding aside, it is a proud
moment for every student in the Kress Events Center on that Saturday afternoon.
Having their families there, taking pictures, spending some time together with
each other after the ceremony, it’s a great time for everyone in your family. It
only seems fair that for the many hours upon hours of work you have put into
each one of your projects or papers, that you would have to spend just a few
more hours waiting to get your diploma.
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