天美传媒

On commencement day, it鈥檚 typical to want to get photographs to mark the occasion.

But not many people get a photo of themselves with the university鈥檚 chancellors and president of 天美传媒 System.

That鈥檚 was Christopher Holley鈥檚 experience though when he attended the 2020 Commencement Ceremony held Sept. 18 on the UIS campus.

The in-person Spring 2020 Commencement Ceremony was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Graduates in the Class of 2020 were promised they would eventually get the opportunity to walk across the stage when it could be done safely.

That day came Sept. 18. Holley, who lives in Mansfield, Texas, and earned his online bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration management, traveled with his wife and five children to Springfield to take part. He was able to snag a photo of himself with UIS Chancellor Emerita Susan Koch, Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney and UI System President Timothy Killeen when he bumped into them near the colonnade.

Holley said he was touched when Koch mentioned him in her speech after she told him he embodied UIS鈥� online programs.

鈥淚t was a perfect time,鈥� he said.

Joan Sestak, director of Community & Governmental Relations for UIS, said the September ceremony fulfilled the promise officials made to celebrate the academic achievements of the Class of 2020. The opportunity to walk across that stage was one many students who live far from Springfield couldn鈥檛 pass up: Of the 150 students who registered to attend, more than 40 lived in states besides Illinois 鈥� including 16 from Texas alone.

鈥淚t was a beautiful day,鈥� Sestak said. 鈥淚t was a joyous celebration of our students鈥� accomplishments that they got to share with their families and friends.鈥�

Alice Caceres-Turcios, a 2020 graduate who is now pursuing her master鈥檚 degree in social work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was ecstatic to head south for the September ceremony. She said she was upset when she had to finish her studies from home instead of campus for the last few months of her senior year and the in-person commencement ceremony wasn鈥檛 held in May 2020 after she completed her bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology with a double minor in history and women and gender studies.

鈥淭hat hit me hard because I worked very hard to get to that point,鈥� she said. 鈥淜nowing I wasn鈥檛 going to have that chance broke me a little bit.鈥�

She said she screamed with joy when she saw an announcement on Facebook that a ceremony was planned for the Class of 2020.

鈥淚 was ecstatic. I honestly thought it wasn鈥檛 going to happen,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was just this overwhelming feeling.鈥�

The September event was the first time her mother and sister had been to Springfield and she felt a sense of pride at being able to show them where so many significant events in her life occurred.

鈥淚 was so grateful we even had the opportunity to do it. I know so many other schools won鈥檛 ever have that chance,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t felt fulfilling. I鈥檓 sure it wasn鈥檛 the traditional ceremony it would have been, but it did what it needed to do. I felt content that the school recognized what all the grads did, that we finished online the last half of the semester. That鈥檚 all I could ask for personally.鈥�

Yugandhar Dutt Atchyuthuni, who now lives in Allentown, Penn., wasn鈥檛 about to miss the opportunity to finally walk across the stage either. While his online master鈥檚 degree in computer science from UIS was the fourth degree he had earned during his lifetime, it was the first time he could actually attend a commencement ceremony.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to miss this time for sure,鈥� he said, noting he brought his eighth-grade daughter with him so she could see what a college campus felt like.

鈥淚t was a very big thing,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭his was the first time I could take it on stage. I was waiting for a long time. I was disappointed when they cancelled it in 2020. They kept in touch, and told us to keep the hope.鈥�

Holley also didn鈥檛 get the chance to go to his commencement ceremony when he earned his associate鈥檚 degree. It meant the world for him to have his wife, children, mother and brother attend the September ceremony at UIS.

鈥淚t means a lot that I was able to share that with my mom. She was my biggest supporter of me going back to school,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was happy to be able to give that to her and have that experience.鈥�