Graduation at Piedmont is right around the corner, slated for May 9. The event will take place at the Johnny Mize Athletic Center, with separate ceremonies. 

The College of Business and the College of Education will hold their ceremony at 9 a.m., while the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences will hold theirs at 1 p.m.

Students attending the 9 a.m. ceremony must arrive by 8:15 a.m., while those attending the 1 p.m. ceremony must arrive by 12:15 p.m. Guests should be seated by 8:45 a.m. for the morning ceremony and by 12:45 p.m. for the afternoon ceremony. Tickets are free for all attendees.

There have been several changes this year, including the venue and split ceremonies. Due to backlash from students and parents, Piedmont held its 2024 graduation ceremony at the quad. However, this year graduation will return to being indoors in the Johnny Mize Athletic Center. 

“While I think the idea of an outdoor graduation is great, it’s hard to do in practice with large facilities with facilities that we don’t have,” said fifth year applied physics Garrett Stadler. “I couldn’t say that one is better than the other, it’s more that indoors is easier and more realistic for us here at Piedmont.”

Diplomas will be given out during the ceremony. Any other certificates will be mailed up to two weeks after the ceremony. Honors graduates will be alerted via email 24 hours prior to the ceremony on May 8.

 Unlike previous years, Piedmont will seat students based on the college they belong to rather than in alphabetical order.

“While it’s sad to not graduate with the entire class at the same time, it’s nice that the ceremony will be easier to handle and take less time. It also allows for more family members and friends to watch when they split it in two, so I’d say the pros outweigh the cons,” said Stadler.

“I feel like [Piedmont] could be more transparent as to what to expect when it comes to graduation,” Sadler continued. “They’ve given details, but have yet to give us graduates a good picture of what to expect when we are actually at the ceremony itself. Plus most of the details they have given out are by email and are extremely missable if you’re not paying enough attention.”

Amongst other changes, Piedmont will hire photographers to take shots of the event and a staged photo of each student receiving their diploma. Students will receive the photos via email after the ceremony. Additionally, parking will be located at the Mize and all other lots designated for guests.

For any other questions about graduation, reach out to [email protected].