University of Notre Dame celebrates 2020 graduates in virtual ceremony

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ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- More than one thousand students took part in Notre Dame’s virtual degree conferral ceremony today.

 “I am very proud of Father Jenkins who referenced this idea of story and fitting into this bigger story of Notre Dame and that this is our opportunity to cease our opportunity to become, fully, the fighting Irish,” said Brady Stiller.

For many graduates across the nation, graduation ceremonies have been taking place virtually. However, the University of Notre Dame has rescheduled their commencement ceremony for Memorial Day 2021, and instead held a virtual conferral ceremony Saturday afternoon.

“Definitely sad that I can’t be with all my classmates together, or with my family for the graduation at Notre Dame,” Craig Mundy, a master’s graduate at the University of Notre Dame said. “But I feel like Notre Dame did a really good job with the virtual commencement, making it still feel special.”

This is the first time in the university’s 178 year history that they held a virtual ceremony. Mundy, who graduated from the Mendoza College of Business with a Masters in Science of Accounting said he wasn’t shocked when the school canceled the physical graduation, but he didn’t expect the virtual ceremony to be as emotional and meaningful as it was.

“Just got with my family, I had a brunch before and then watched it together,’ Mundy said. “When they had Notre Dame Alma Mater, we all interlocked arms and swayed back and forth singing along.”

The university honored the graduating class of 2020 with a slideshow, prayer and the conferral of degrees.

The Valedictorian Brady Stiller was unable to give his commencement speech to the graduating class, but said he saw the virtual degree ceremony as both a “celebration of friendships and achievements.”

Stiller said he was very impressed with the way Notre Dame went about the virtual ceremony.

“Having the pictures, that definitely evoked a lot of memories of all the joyous occasions that we had, all of the times we were at football games, or just enjoying life in the dorms on campus. The student experience was on display there on the slideshow.”

Stiller will have the opportunity to read his commencement speech next year when the graduation ceremony takes place on Memorial Day.






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