91��Ƶ

The Stockton Class of 2020 originally celebrated their achievements with a special eCommencement ceremony on May 15, 2020. With large, in-person gatherings banned in the height of the pandemic, the confetti fell on the Class of 2020, but it did so virtually. Graduates celebrated at home and on social media instead of together at Boardwalk Hall.

“We would love to congratulate each and every one of you, to present your degrees in person, to shake your hands,” said President Harvey Kesselman in his video address. “But as you know, the current global health crisis has presented considerable challenges to our time-honored traditions of commencement.”

Celebrating the Class of 2020

In the fall as restrictions relaxed, nearly 1,000 members of the Class of 2020 returned to campus to walk across the stage in eight separate, socially-distanced outdoor Commencement ceremonies on the Galloway campus held Oct. 23, 2020.

“It’s his master’s degree – I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” said Yvonne Ford of her son Sean who earned his Master’s in Business Administration and posed for photos with his mom and father, Patrick.

The eight smaller ceremonies were held on alternate hours at two locations on the Galloway campus.  Chairs were spaced six feet apart and face coverings were required.

“Yes, our ceremony set-up looks different,” said President Kesselman. “We are socially distant, but we are no less connected.  We are joined in fellowship to celebrate this long-awaited moment.”

He told the graduates that while “things happen” that are unexpected, they must remain flexible and adaptable to thrive. He noted that their return to campus was about much more than being handed a piece of paper.

“It’s about an idea, symbolic of your stick-to-itiveness, your determination, your persistence, your resolve.”

Zakiya Smith Ellis, chief policy advisor to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and former N.J. Secretary of Higher Education, who was scheduled as the keynote speaker in May at Boardwalk Hall, spoke at the ceremony.

“To say this is not the commencement we all envisioned would be the understatement of the year,” Smith Ellis said. “We are all making sacrifices and living a life we never imagined. And all of it can be a bit exhausting.”

But, she noted, that this year has also proven that the Class of 2020 is prepared for anything.

“What you have been through this past year means you can weather any storm,” Smith Ellis said.

Commencement 2021

Graduates celebrate the end of their Stockton journey at the Spring 2021 commencement.

A Special Question

Daniel Do proposes to Kathleen Ngo following the Spring 2021 commencement.

A Long Time Coming

This grad cap says it all for the Class of 2020 who waited until October to celebrate their commencement.

The First of Many

The first cohort in the Master of Art in Counseling graduated May 13, 2021.

Masks Can't Hide the Smile

The Stockton Class of 2021 mask can't hide this happy graduate's smile.

Perseverance, Optimism Define Class of 2021

The special fall commencement ceremonies proved to be a great trial run for future, smaller in-person ceremonies. Sticking to state health guidelines, the Class of 2021 celebrated their accomplishments during 12 ceremonies held May 11-13, 2021, in the Sports Center.

More than 2,600 91��Ƶ graduated from Stockton in 2021, many of them also having overcome struggles, and all of them having grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 2,000 graduates participated in the COVID-19-safe ceremonies with a few family members cheering them on in person, and others watching the livestream. Each ceremony featured graduates of a different school, and a designated student speaker.

Kathleen Ngo was the student speaker in Ceremony 4, celebrating graduates of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Following the ceremony, Ngo was surprised with a marriage proposal from classmate Daniel Do. Ngo is heading to Northwestern for a doctorate in chemistry, and Do is going to Ohio State for a doctorate in food science.