How did you experience this year’s graduation? Were you there in person, receiving your certificate? Were you watching a friend or family member walking across the stage? Or maybe you were one of many who followed TCC’s livestream of the event.
Technology was out in full force at this year’s commencement ceremony in an effort by the Web Communications team to highlight TCC’s class of 2013. Students, families, and friends were encouraged to share their stories and pictures in real time with various social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. As students were waiting backstage to line up, pictures of them in full regalia were posted; as students filed in, tweets were sent letting followers know the excitement had begun.
“It was exciting when the first submissions started coming in,” Barbara Prellwitz, one of the Web Communications team members, said. “Last year we were just trying it out to even see if it was possible and only received a few things from students. This year, we advertised it on the website and pushed it on social media and students listened and participated. It was great!”
Even family members or friends out of country could participate in the ceremony by watching it live via the official commencement site. The livestream broadcast was watched by people in countries all over the world, including the US and Puerto Rico, Philippines, Mexico, Italy, Ireland, Dominica, Guatemala, Canada, and New Zealand.
“It was a great year for our web presence during commencement,” Prellwitz added. “We wanted to engage more people and make it more accessible, and I felt that’s exactly what we did.”
To see some of the student picture submissions, visit the TCC Flickr page.