Student Activities continue with its themed week of online events while following quarantine. Now, it is time to honor and celebrate the UTRGV class of 2020 seniors who are soon to graduate.
As previously reported by The Rider, Elianey Moya, program coordinator for Student Activities, said the department came up with the idea of having themed weeks for the UTRGV community to be engaged throughout the rest of the semester.
“Grad week [is] a week that Student Activities put together to celebrate the class of 2020,” Moya said. “As we all know that due to COVID-19, commencement has been postponed. … I know some students are not able to attend the postponed dates so we wanted to do something to still celebrate the graduates.”
Monday, students were able to submit their “Grad Cap Designs.”
Moya said an image of a grad cap was sent via email to seniors so they could screenshot and draw their own design on it. They had the option to create them digitally or draw their design.
She also encouraged students who have their actual grad cap and the materials needed to decorate those.
“We went a digital route … because a lot of students might not have them,” Moya said.
This activity is part of a contest for UTRGV students, and the fan favorite will win a UTRGV diploma frame. Students can submit their entries on Instagram or by sending an email to studentactivities@utrgv.edu. The deadline for the submissions is noon Thursday.
Today, students can participate by sending a picture of their “Decked Out Door” to show their Vaquero Spirit.
“Your home doors, … your bedroom doors can be designed with UTRGV swag, … memorabilia, … anything that kind of honors the graduate,” Moya said.
She also said the door decorations may vary from Greek letters, club posters or even a shirt of an event a student attended throughout their college years. The contest rules and prize are the same as the “Grad Cap Design.”
Wednesday, students can join a “Netflix Watch Party” to watch the 2010’s “The Karate Kid” movie. This event will start at 3:30 p.m.
Students can RSVP through VLink before noon Wednesday. An email will be sent with a link to join the “Netflix Watch Party.”
Moya said the movie is a representation of perseverance and not giving up as it also shows determination.
“We have seen students persevere through the online transition and still accomplish the end goal of graduation,” she said.
Thursday will be “Game Night” hosted by Academic Adviser Melanie Garza and other Student Activities members.
Garza said the game that will be played is a raffle and it will consist of several rounds depending on how many people participate.
Asked why it is important to celebrate the students who are soon to graduate, Garza replied, “They’ve put in so much time and effort into achieving this goal. It’s definitely a milestone for them, so we want them to feel remembered and heard and acknowledged for all their hard work.”
She also said the prize will be a UTRGV diploma frame.
Students need to RSVP through VLink by 3 p.m. Thursday and will receive the Zoom link.
Student Activities will host “Live Caricatures with Adam Pate” on Friday. He will go live via Zoom from 2 to 5 p.m.
“Adam Pate, who is the character artist, is the fastest character artist in the world,” Moya said. “Students who attend will receive a digital copy of their caricature following the event.
Moya said Pate can add a graduation cap to the seniors’ portraits.
Students can RSVP through VLink before noon Friday to receive a link via email to join the Zoom meeting.
“Anyone can attend our events, we would just highly encourage our graduates to participate,” Moya said. “For the UTRGV diploma frames, we really want to give them to those who are graduating this semester.”
Asked what she hopes students take away from the events, Moya replied, “That they are cared for. … We are proud of all of their accomplishments at UTRGV and we just want them to know that they are celebrated by Student Activities.”
For more information, email studentactivities@utrgv.edu
This is great !!