Here’s how Penn State students celebrated during virtual commencement ceremonies
The Bryce Jordan Center was quiet Saturday, but that didn’t stop Penn State students from decorating mortarboards, turning tassels and celebrating milestones while watching virtual commencement ceremonies.
According to a tweet from the university, the virtual commencement — scheduled in response to the coronavirus pandemic — had more than 90,000 views from 121 different countries. The livestream recognized all undergraduate students at University Park and the Commonwealth Campuses, and all graduate students in the graduate school. It featured special appearances from former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley, Good Morning America’s Lara Spencer, Joe Jonas and others.
Individual campuses and colleges offered additional programming for their own graduates.
In total, Penn State awarded about 15,000 diplomas, and Saturday’s virtual ceremonies were “just the first step in recognizing the Class of 2020,” President Eric Barron said in a news release last week. Plans for future in-person celebrations have not been announced.
Below are some ways students celebrated graduation virtually:
This story was originally published May 10, 2020 at 11:43 AM.