Are you ready for the elation, the emotion, the high fives, and the cheering crowds?

Students who finish their AU degree requirements by April 30 are eligible to attend AU’s convocation ceremonies this June in Athabasca, Alberta.  Will you be among the hundreds of excited graduands visiting the campus of Athabasca University for the first time?

Attending AU’s convocation in June 2018 was the perfect way to celebrate obtaining my bachelor’s degree.  I’d worked hard for over five years to complete it:  sixty-six months of relentless rolling enrolment.  Early on, I knew I wanted to attend convocation at Athabasca.  In the final two years, I knew I was working toward a fixed date with fixed deadlines.  The carrot of convocation kept me focussed.

Completing the requirements for my degree by April 2018 proved anti-climatic.  I was officially done but it was very “meh.”  A momentary flutter of excitement when my parchment arrived in the mail the following month, but other than that it was a soft finish to what was an enormous achievement.

AU’s convocation was the party my parchment deserved.  The anticipation, the getting there, the people, the lights, the gowns.  For the first time, I met people—real people—who had only existed online before.  And I met many more students who, like me, had travelled long distances to celebrate their achievements.

Exchanging stories and experiences while we waited for the procession to begin made me understand that I wasn’t alone.  While I had been toiling at coursework on my own for years, other students had been doing the same thing.  I sat in the gowning room with my tribe of BGS graduands, all wearing our black gowns and green-trimmed hoods, chatting like long-lost friends.  And then we proceeded together to the convocation hall and later walked across the stage one after the other for our bright, shining moments.  We made it!

With family and friends in the audience at AU, or watching the livestream at home, each AU graduate felt—really felt—the sheer immensity of what they had accomplished.  There can be no substitute for this experience.  You really have to be there.

There are no second chances for convocation.  If you fulfill your AU requirements during the period from May 2018 to April 2019, and fill out an application to graduate, you’ll get an invitation to the convocation ceremonies in June 2019.  If you decided not to attend convocation, you’ll never get another chance to celebrate the degree you just worked so hard for in the style it deserves.

AU’s convocation is a celebration all its students have earned.  If you can make to Athabasca in June, you’ll have an experience you’ll treasure forever.

For information on AU’s Convocation 2019, go to convocation.athabascau.ca/.  For information on the graduation procedure, including a link to the Application for Graduation form, go to calendar.athabascau.ca/undergrad/current/adm-reg-eval/grad-procedure.php.