Postponed spring commencement to take place Aug. 15
Commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2020 commencement, originally scheduled for May, will take place on Saturday, August 15 at 11 a.m. in the Alumnae Dining Room. The ceremony has been designed with precautionary measures in place to keep all participants safe in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a traditional student, first-generation, or returning after many failed attempts. Mount Mary provides the necessary resources for students to be successful."
Heather Dillon ’20, art therapy
It is important to note that only graduates, a small number of faculty and University officials and trained volunteers will be allowed entrance to Bergstrom Hall for the ceremony. All guests will view the ceremony from their cars, much like a drive-in movie theater, in the Bergstrom parking lot. A large screen and adequate audio with closed captioning will be professionally set up for graduates’ guests to enjoy the entire ceremony from their vehicles.
For the ceremony, masks and a minimum of six feet of physical distance will be required at all times.
Members of the University community who wish to watch the ceremony from a distance are able to do so via the live streaming feed on Mount Mary’s YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/Wh-byP9_1vY).
The student speaker at commencement is art therapy major Heather Dillon. Dillon started her journey at Mount Mary in 2018 and found her vocational path here, after having attended two colleges previous to Mount Mary. Dillon is the President of the Student Art Therapy Association, worked as a Student Ambassador in the Admissions Welcome Center, and was a member of the Promise Program. She was inducted in both Delta Epsilon Sigma and Kappa Gamma Pi.
Dillon will be starting the graduate art therapy program in the fall. After graduate school, she hopes to further the research aspect of the Art Therapy field while working as a clinician.
A wife and mother of three, she felt welcomed and supported at Mount Mary.
"Here at Mount Mary, I got to have the college experience that I had always hoped for,” she said. “I am not sure another institution could have given a non-traditional student those same experiences.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a traditional student, first-generation, or returning after many failed attempts. Mount Mary provides the necessary resources for students to be successful," Dillon said.
To view special commemorative coverage for the Class of 2020, along with congratulatory videos from several School Sisters of Notre Dame and members of the Alumnae Association, visit mtmary.edu/graduation.