Convocates throw their hats in celebration as they officially finish their time at Lethbridge Polytechnic on Oct. 18 in the Val Matteotti gymnasium.
A practical nursing graduate got recognized in high honour as the featured graduate at the Lethbridge Polytechnic fall convocation on Oct. 18.
Allessandra Chan says the credit for this honour can’t go to her alone.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to give myself credit for it because honestly, it’s SIM hub that gets all the credit for it. Like the polytechnic, I hate to be the person that’s like, I’m just going to plug, but I am going to plug because the practical nursing program has been phenomenal. Genuinely, I would not be the person that I am, and I would not have received this honour,” said Chan.
Chan also said she had no idea that a featured graduate was even a thing at the polytechnic until her professor nominated her for the position.
“She’s like, also I’m going to make sure that you get recognized at graduation. I was thinking maybe even if it was a cookie that said ‘yay’, even if it was a participation trophy, I’d be so down,” says Chan.
Along with the special honour of featured graduate, the institution had symbols of special recognition including a mace, stone pipe, and Metis scarf. The stone pipe symbolizes the name Ohkotoki’aahkkoiyiiniimaan, which was given to the polytechnic by the Blackfoot people, while the Metis scarf is a symbol to recognize the Indigenous land the institution sits on.
The mace is an internal symbol designed by Lethbridge Polytechnic to symbolize the power of the internal sources at the graduation.
“It’s a kind of a symbol of the power of the president, the board, to you know, to confer the degrees, the credentials,” stated Marko Hilgersom, registrar at Lethbridge Polytechnic.
Along with power and honour was significance for the students walking the stage as many of them are the first in their program to receive the Lethbridge Polytechnic logo on their diploma and certificates.
“Well, this is the first fall Lethbridge Polytechnic graduation. So last fall, we were Lethbridge Polytechnic officially. But, because none of the students had really taken any courses at Lethbridge Polytechnic. We still used the Lethbridge College logo in the ceremony because we wanted something that was familiar to them,” said Hilgersom.
During the convocation ceremony, Kenny Corscadden, PhD, vice-president of academic and research, offered his congratulations and gave the graduates a sense of what the world needs.
“I can tell you with certainty that the world needs your critical thinking, your skilled hands and your innovative, creative minds. We need you to solve problems, create opportunities, and shape communities wherever you live and work. And I’m betting you are ready to deliver,” offered Corscadden.
As the students walk the stage, Hilgersom said some students don’t forget where they came from and are always eager and excited to show off the hallways they called home to the people who supported them along their journey.
“The part I enjoy the most is after the ceremony, and I see the students in either center core or if it’s a nice day out in the center loop. Taking pictures, smiling, very proud. I could see them taking their parents down the hall to where they had classes,” Hilgersom proudly exclaimed.
Hilgersom said this day gives him a sense of finality as an administrator and a sort of closing book for the students that walk the stage.
“It is the most important like event of the year, as far as I’m concerned. It’s a culmination of the student’s journey. We really pride ourselves on making it student focused. So we really fight hard,” says Hilgersom.
Although the name of the institution changed, the unity of the people within the polytechnic is still there. Lethbridge Polytechnic prides themselves on sticking to the motto of “what happens next matters most” and shows that through every convocation and student who walks across the stage.
