At the end of every semester, individual colleges at Weber State University prepare for their convocations. The common thought is that commencement is the sole graduation ceremony, but there is the larger commencement ceremony, which is university-wide, and the convocation ceremony, which is limited to each college, making the convocation more personal for each graduating student.

“Convocation is a ceremony where graduates can walk across the stage with their peers to receive their diploma cover,” Mary Ann Boles, administrative coordinator for the Office of the Dean for the Goddard School of Business & Economics, said.

Some responsibilities that fall to Boles, and other administrative coordinators like her, include selecting outstanding graduates, getting award plaques made, and directing graduates, faculty and staff.

Other coordinators for the ceremony select two student speakers and gather information to include in their section of the printed program. Once that has been organized, the team sends letters to graduates alerting them to what they need to know about their part in the ceremony.

Boles has become accustomed to the workload and tight deadlines that come with making the ceremony run smoothly.

“There’s a lot that goes into it, but it’s been pretty seamless over the years since I’ve been doing it for almost 27 years now,” Boles said. “It’s kind of down to a science.”

To Boles, all of the weeks of work are worth it. Especially when the ceremony gets closer.

“While it may be stressful for like the initial two weeks where we have to collect information to submit for the program, on the day of the event, it’s actually exciting to see the students that you’ve worked with over the course of their academic career get to walk across the stage and receive their diploma cover,” Boles said. “It’s just exciting to see the end result.”

The locations and times for the convocations vary from college to college. The convocations are being held on April 28 in the Val A. Browning Center and are detailed below:

10:30 a.m.-noon: Moyes College of Education
1-2:30 p.m.: College of Science
3:30-5 p.m.: Goddard School of Business & Economics
6-7:30 p.m.: Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities

The convocations being held at the Dee Events Center are detailed below:
10:30-noon: Dumke College of Health Professions
1-2:30 p.m.: College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology (EAST)
3:30-5 p.m.: College of Social and Behavioral Science
6-7:30 p.m.: General Studies