As a result of the change in New York State’s guidelines, Villa Maria College will now allow a limited number of guests to attend its 2021 Commencement ceremony.
Each participating graduate may invite two guests to attend the May 22nd exercises alongside them. In order to attend the ceremony, which will still take place outside in front of the Main Building, all students and their two guests must RSVP at Villa.edu/commencement by Tuesday, May 18.
On the day of graduation, all attendees, including students and guests, must check in at the registration tables that will be located in two areas: the breezeway adjacent to the Music Building and the breezeway adjacent to the Library Building. At the check in tables, all students and guests must provide the following:
- A valid form of identification (driver’s license, passport, etc.).
- Contact information, including a phone number that can receive text messages.
- Proof of vaccination OR proof of a negative PCR test that was obtained between May 19 at 10 AM and May 22 at 10 AM.
As always, safety is the College’s top priority. As such, Villa Maria will strictly adhere to all New York State and Erie County guidelines that are set forth. All attendees must complete a health screening and have their temperatures checked before being seated. Physical distancing and facial coverings will be required while on campus, and all other state and local guidelines will be followed exactly. Anyone who is unwilling or unable to comply with state and county guidelines will be unable to attend the on-campus ceremony.
In order to allow the greater College community to view the ceremony and celebrate along with the graduates, the event will be livestreamed on the College’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/VillaMariaCollegeBuffalo.
David Zapfel, CEO of Gerard Place, will address the Classes of 2020 and 2021 as planned. His remarks will be followed by this year’s student award winners who will be named in a separate announcement.
More detailed information will be distributed in the coming weeks. Students should pay close attention to their Villa emails and the College website, www.villa.edu.
