Iowa State held the commencement ceremony formally recognizing and honoring students who graduated during the pandemic. The event took place in Hilton Colosseum on Oct. 9, giving students closure on their time at Iowa State.

The event began at 10 a.m., and after a few words, the recent graduates entered the stadium in two lines and filed into their seats. Afterward, the University Mace was carried in by Chief Faculty Marshal Robert Wallace, who preceded President Wendy Wintersteen and the members of Iowa State’s academic community.

The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Color Guard presented the nation’s colors, and Simon Estes performed the national anthem with the Student Brass Ensemble under the direction of Michael Golemo.

Afterward, Wintersteen took the podium to acknowledge the members of the Iowa State community who shared the stage with her and the students who sat before her.

“We are very honored to welcome you to this special commencement ceremony honoring Iowa State’s 2020 and spring 2021 graduates,” said Wintersteen. “Today we celebrate the culmination of your years of hard work, focused study and personal growth. We also recognize the resilience and determination shown by this very special group of graduates.”

The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Charles Sukup, former CEO and President of Sukup Manufacturing Co. and current chairman at the company. Sukup has served in a variety of associations and institutions, earning several awards and recognitions. Sukup also has a long history at Iowa State, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1976 and earning a master’s in 1982. Sukup currently serves as professor of practice at Iowa State.

Sukup’s speech was meant to give the honored students a few final life lessons as they transition to the world outside of college. In the conclusion of his speech, Sukup summarized the lessons he wanted the graduates to remember after leaving Iowa State.

“Every career has a purpose and the opportunity to better the world. Seek those opportunities and take advantage of the experiences to learn. Persevere, give faith, seize the opportunities that come your way, be of service and always have faith. Congratulations class of 2020, you are survivors. Go forth and be a blessing to those around you.”

After Sukup’s speech, Estes and the Student Brass Ensemble performed “Ol’ Man River,” followed by the ensemble’s performance of “Cyclone Fantasia.”

Finally, the ceremony conferred degrees, starting with the doctorates of philosophy, the university’s highest degree. Next were the two doctorates of veterinary medicine, who took their oaths and were awarded their degrees. Following were the master’s degrees stemming from the graduate college and finally, the graduates from the undergraduate colleges.

The president of the Iowa State Alumni Association, Jeffrey Johnston, briefly took the stage to welcome the new graduates into the world of alumni.

Throughout the conferring of degrees, especially through the undergraduate portion, audience members could be heard making a lot of noise for their friends or family members receiving their degrees. One particularly loud spectator, Tyler Hoth, offered his perspective on the ceremony.

“I just think that it’s really cool that the graduates got this experience to come back and be able to have a graduation ceremony,” said Hoth. “I graduated from here in 2017 and having to watch the youtube video for my brother’s initial ceremony was really disappointing. To have this, I thought it was really cool to see him go across the stage.”

Tyler came to the commencement ceremony to watch his brother, Nathan Hoth, receive his bachelor’s degree in food science.

One recent graduate who had earned her doctorate in philosophy, Zahra Davoudi, explained her experience at the commencement ceremony.

“It was a really good event and it actually looked like a real event. ..I was thinking that because of Covid and everything it would be different but it was not. It was a good memory for me,” said Davoudi.

Since graduating, Davoudi has begun living in Maryland, making the trip all the way to Ames to walk across the stage. Luckily, she reported the ceremony was well worth the trouble of getting here.

The abruptness of students’ departure from campus during spring 2020 may have left them missing the friends and groups they had gotten to know during their education. Luckily, this ceremony offered many of these students a chance to reconnect with the people around campus. One graduate who earned his degree in computer engineering, Jordan Fox, explained how he felt leaving with no ceremony just to return to campus later on.

“It was bittersweet. You got your name in a PowerPoint and that’s about it. They do the best that they can so I appreciate the effort they gave, but it’s obviously not the same as having something in person,” said Fox. “It was kinda like, there was this spring break in 2020 that just never ended, so that was my last real memory here. So coming back and seeing the activity on a Friday night, seeing that liveliness again after the never ending spring break, it’s been nice to see that again.”

Gerri Richardson, who had just been awarded her degree in elementary education, described what she got out of the ceremony and how she felt about missing out on the traditional ceremony upon graduation.

“[Graduating without a ceremony] was sad, but I knew it was coming, so at the time it was expected, but it was still sad to not be able to come back after spending so much time and effort on everything school related,” said Richardson “It definitely was [worth coming back] not only to be able to experience a conclusion but also to meet up with friends I haven’t seen in a long time.”