Heads up San Luis Obispo, the town’s population is about to spike again on Dec. 9 when a thousand Cal Poly students take that short walk across a stage into the future and graduate.
Cal Poly’s 34th Annual Fall Commencement is set for Saturday, Dec. 9, the school announced. There will be three ceremonies — 9 a.m., 1 and 4 p.m. and held in the Cal Poly Recreation Center on campus. With nearly 1,000 eligible to graduate, residents can expect full motel rooms, clogged streets and lots of customers for downtown businesses.
The theme for commencement is “Mustangs Forever” and the ceremonies will include a retrospective slideshow of the graduating students during the processional, the “proud pinning” ceremony and a celebratory surprise, the school announced.
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said, “Commencement marks a transition in the lives of our dedicated graduates. They will carry ‘Learn by Doing’ forward throughout their careers and lives. We celebrate their accomplishments while also recognizing their equally dedicated supporters — family members, friends, teachers, mentors and peers whose support through the years has helped our graduates succeed.”
The keynote speaker is Komal Ahmad, founder and CEO of Copia, a Bay Area nonprofit-turned-public benefit corporation that fights poverty by redistributing surplus food to feed people in need.
Some 10,000 visitors are expected to attend the three, 90-minute ceremonies. Also, each will be live-streamed online, complete with closed captioning, for those unable to attend or for the simply curious. See: httpss://youtu.be/GXM8U9WRmHM to watch the live feed.
Agriculture, food and environmental sciences and science and mathematics students will graduate at the morning commencement; liberal arts and business students graduate at 1 p.m.; and architecture, environmental design, and engineering students go at 4.
Permits are not required to park on campus during commencement. For more information on ceremonies, parking, and shuttles, see: www.commencement.calpoly.edu.
