Kayla Gruber will be joining 12,000 of her fellow Buckeyes in receiving their diplomas at Spring Commencement and listening to President Barack Obama deliver his speech.
The day before the May 5 ceremony, however, the fourth-year in nursing will be walking in the College of Nursing’s own convocation ceremony.
Gruber, who has family coming in from out of town, didn’t want anybody to make a trip and miss out on seeing her graduate because of the six-ticket limit that applies to each graduate.
“I (won’t) have to pick people. I don’t want to weed anyone out,” Gruber said.
Sanford Meisel, marketing and communications director for the College of Nursing, said the separate convocation for nursing students will be held at the Franklin County Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in downtown Columbus.
“The capacity there is such that we do not issue tickets or set limits,” he said. “There are close to 4,000 seats, and we typically get around 2,000 attendees.”
Meisel said the convocation is an opportunity for “individual recognition.”
“I think other colleges, as we do, use a convocation as an opportunity to recognize particular educational excellence or certificates,” Meisel said.
The College of Nursing presents students graduating with their Bachelor of Science in Nursing with nursing pins and also hoods their doctoral candidates – both Ph.D. and Doctor of Nursing Practice.
Meisel said Spring Commencement does not hood DNP candidates.
Hoods are used to distinguish some academic degrees and differ in colors depending on the degree the student is receiving.
Sandy Cody, assistant dean of student affairs for the College of Nursing, said the college’s own ceremony is intimate.
“(It’s) kind of like a big family reunion, with long lost relatives you haven’t met yet,” she said.
The College of Nursing is not the only college at OSU to hold its own graduate event.
OSU spokeswoman Gayle Saunders said several other colleges hold “pre-commencement convocation of honors and celebrations.”
The Fisher College of Business holds the Fisher Spring Graduation Ceremony and The John Glenn School of Public Affairs holds a pre-commencement event the Saturday before Spring Commencement, where officials hand out various awards and graduates take a class photo.
“It’s a lot of fun and is a good way to celebrate the graduating class’ accomplishments,” said Hank Wilson, director of communications for the Glenn School.
Lanzi Li, a fourth-year in city and regional planning, will be attending the Knowlton School of Architecture’s commencement breakfast the morning of Spring Commencement.
Li, who said she is not inconvenienced by the ticket limit because she only Spring Commencement needs tickets for her parents, said she is very excited to celebrate with her class at the breakfast.
“The group photo of the graduating class will definitely be unforgettable.”