Last June, Clark Honors College students, faculty and staff crammed into Chapman Hall on a rainy June afternoon to celebrate the graduation of the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022. To say the least, the weather was subpar. But spirits were high as graduates, draped in deep-green gowns and with mortarboards atop their heads, mingled with family and friends.

This year, the CHC will host a graduation celebration from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20. It will follow the University of Oregon’s main commencement, which will be held at 9 a.m. at Autzen Stadium.

“We hope it will be similar to last year, with better weather,” says Renee Dorjahn, the CHC associate dean of finance and administration. Dorjahn serves as Graduation Coordinator for the Honors College, working alongside fellow graduation celebration committee members Elin England, the director of alumni and community engagement, and Ryan Thiess, who serves as the CHC office specialist and building manager.

The idea of the graduation celebration sprung from a need to revamp the Honors College’s ceremony. Dorjahn says that since the college’s size has grown, “the way that we had structured the original commencement, it was taking a long time to get through.”

When the 2019 CHC ceremony ended, people were ready to bolt. “We had refreshments and a reception, but nobody really wanted to stay around,” Dorjhan recalls. “They were hungry, tired; they wanted to have dinner.” There was no time for faculty, graduates, and parents to enjoy the reception and mingle.

During the 2021-22 academic year, Acting Dean Carol Stabile met with her leadership team and decided as a group to have an open-house style celebration instead of a traditional crossing of the stage. This year, all graduation ceremonies and celebrations at UO will fall on the same day. By hosting an open house, the Honors College will be able to meet the needs of all CHC graduates.

“Our graduation celebration is meant to provide an opportunity for students, families, friends, faculty, and staff to connect as students transition from our community of learning into their futures,” Stabile says. “Sharing food, drink, selfies, and song within the beautiful walls of Chapman Hall, we gather to honor and enjoy the bonds created over the past year.”

The celebration will take place on all three floors of Chapman Hall. Tents will be set up on the Tykeson lawn with food and refreshments, and faculty will be milling about to chat with the graduates and their families. Stabile will be on hand to congratulate graduates as they pick up their CHC certificates of completion.

“We talked with students and heard loud and clear that the thing they really missed in the pandemic was being together as a community and conversations, particularly sharing with professors and having professors meet their parents,” Dorjhan says. She and England made sure to incorporate conversations with faculty into the celebration to emphasize the close connections students form with instructors in the Honors College.

“As students move through their undergraduate experience, there are a lot of things in flux,” England says. “There are a lot of points of association during their four years here, but Chapman Hall remains constant.” She elaborated that Chapman could serve as a touchpoint for firsts and lasts of graduating students. “They can remember the first time they saw Chapman at the university and compare that to how they think of it now with their more mature worldview.”

Lindsay Hinkle, a career instructor in the Honors College, says she is looking forward to celebrating the achievements of all graduates. She loves seeing students in their robes and other Honors College faculty in their caps, gowns and hoods.

“It’s fun to see the faculty because we all come from different institutions, so we all have different robes and different hoods,” Hinkle said. “It’s cool to see the rainbow of colors that you get from all the places.”

When asked to describe the class of 2023, Hinkle didn’t hesitate. “The word that comes to mind when I think of their class is resilient,” she says, noting that this group of graduates suffered from many disruptions to their schooling from the pandemic. “I’m so proud that they’ve persevered through all these different kinds of changes. It’s so cool to be able to learn alongside them.”

CHC senior Julia Lo is a biology major with a business minor, and she’s planning to take a gap year after graduation and apply to law school. She recently defended her thesis and is content with what she’s accomplished in this stage of her academic career.

“I feel really proud of what I’ve done in the Honors College,” Lo says. “When I was a freshman, I was really scared of the thesis and I didn’t really think I would make it through, honestly.”

Now that she’s on the other side of the thesis process, Lo believes that anyone can do it if they put their mind to it. “I felt really supported throughout the process,” she says. “And now that I’m done, I’m like ‘Wow, I did that.’”

Lo’s favorite part of being in the Honors College was the wide variety of topics she learned about. She reflects fondly on a class she took called “Invisible Landscapes” with Liska Chan, where students explored Eugene’s less-loved landscapes. She focused on a freeway off-ramp near the 5th Street Market for her project. “I got to sit there for a while and feel my presence there, and understand what the landscape was like,” she recalls.

She made a video that portrayed the off-ramp as a moment of zen in Eugene’s stressful driving environment. “That was a very special project because it helped me look at space in a different way,” she says.

While she’s excited to graduate, Lo says leaving the Honors College behind will be bittersweet. “All the people I’ve met in the CHC are so articulate and smart,” she says. “I’m just glad to be a part of that community.”

Grace Miyoshi, a journalism and public relations major, is a friend of Lo’s and they met through the Honors College. She says CHC gave her that small liberal arts experience that rounded out her time in college. “It sounds cheesy, but it helped me learn about the world,” Miyoshi says.

Angela Rovak, the director of first-year experience at the CHC, is eager to congratulate the class of 2023. Rovak started at the CHC four years ago, so the class of 2023 is the first graduating class she’s seen through the undergraduate experience.

“They were my first first-year students, and so I’ve been anxiously anticipating them leaving for a long time,” she said. “It feels like the end of chapter one, but I’m really proud and excited for them.”

When asked what has changed about the class of 2023 since their freshman year, Rovak smiles and laughs. “I don’t know if I want you to print this, but they’re so grown up,” she says.

She recalls a conversation she had with two students that she was advising as freshmen in Falling Sky Pizza during the winter term of the 2019-2020 academic year. The students shared sentiments of not feeling mature or independent that day. “And now I’m sitting in on their thesis defenses and they’re sharing start-up business plans,” Rovak says. “From that moment when we’re sitting there wondering what makes me an adult to the moment of seeing all these students ready to graduate, I’m so impressed with that growth.”

Stabile hopes that the class of 2023 will stay in touch, and she’s excited to see what this year of Honors College graduates will do out in the world.

Her final request of this year’s graduates? “I’ve sat with you through tears and triumphs, and can’t wait to see how you’ll change the world,” she says. “At every step, I’ve been amazed and inspired by what you all have done.”

- Story by Sammy Pierotti, Clark Honors College Communications

- Photos by Ilka Sankari, Clark Honors College Communications