KENTFIELD / NOVATO, CA—College of Marin (COM) will celebrate the accomplishments of graduates and transfer students in a virtual Commencement and Transfer Recognition Ceremony. The virtual ceremony webpage is scheduled to go live at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 29.
The ceremony will also be the first in the College’s history to feature a performance of Mariners’ March, a song composed by COM music faculty and department chair Jim Stopher and dedicated to the College. Inspired by COM Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s outstanding concert performances, Stopher wrote the song for them to perform, and its world premiere was at the ensemble’s fall concert in December 2019.
“It’s designed to sound like a traditional fight song with a pompous and confident beginning, a jaunty main melody, an interlude, and a bombastic and celebratory ending,” said Stopher of the College’s first anthem. “Right now it’s very difficult to have a sense of community, and this is something I wanted to offer the College as a whole, as a way of having something that we can share together that reflects our identity as the College of Marin. In these very difficult times, I hope it can play a small part in bringing people together for the ceremony.”
The College will award 495 degrees and certificates to students in the 93rd class of graduates. The 421 graduates in the class of 2020 range in age from the youngest at 18 years old to the most mature at 80 years old.
“In the spirit of firsts, this is the first commencement in the College’s rich history where we’ve not been able to join together as a community to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates and transfer students,” stated Superintendent/President Dr. David Wain Coon. “While disappointing, it doesn’t diminish how proud we are of our students for their resilience, tenacity, and true grit as we continued instruction remotely. I also applaud the faculty and staff for helping our students reach their goals under extraordinary circumstances.”
COM’s virtual commencement will be available on a ceremony webpage that can be viewed and visited at any time, and each student will be able to save and share their slide on social media. The commencement website will also include a downloadable commencement program, as well as special messages from COM’s superintendent/president and presidents of the Marin Community College District Board of Trustees, Associated Students of College of Marin (ASCOM), and Academic Senate.
The virtual ceremony will remain online until May 2021. Additionally, graduates and transfer students will be invited to participate in the ceremony scheduled for late May 2021, contingent upon public health guidelines.
For more information about commencement, visit marin.edu/commencement.