Vanessa Muldrow, commencement and student affairs special events coordinator, answers questions about graduation preparation.
How many people will be at FedExForum on graduation day, including students and guests?
The FedExForum holds a little bit over 18,000, and we could get pretty close to maxing out the place in May. Both of our ceremonies probably run about 12,000 for each one. The graduating class is around 2,300, and everybody brings around eight to 12 guests. The Forum opens an hour before each ceremony starts, and the guests come in at the same time the students do. The guests stay upstairs, and the students have clearance to go downstairs and get ready for their processional.
Have you ever had to turn people away because the Forum was at capacity?
We've never had to turn anyone away because of space. Our numbers keep going up, so we're graduating more people, and we're always excited about that. I don't know if we'll ever max out the Forum, maybe in like 15 years. One of the reasons we're at the Forum is because we want to make sure all of our students are able to bring as many people as they want because our students have big families, and that's great, we want them all to attend, just as they want them to attend. So, if we had to, we'd look into other options. For instance, instead of two ceremonies, maybe doing three in one day rather than turn people away.
What is the process for applying to graduate?
Most colleges want their students to file a year ahead of time, so we have an online system now through [MyMemphis], where the student fills out their cap and gown measurements all at the one time. As soon as they file, that information is put into the system, which is really great.
How long does planning graduation take and what goes into it?
We start planning for each event roughly five months in advance. We're building the program, because that's a huge part, because we want to make sure everyone's name is in the program and it's right. We do the seating for the students, making sure everyone is lined up correctly and they're in order.
How has putting cap and gown measurements online affected preparations?
It's so much easier since we've gone online; I love it. It's easy, because we don't actually let the students choose their gown type or their hood for masters and doctoral students, it actually looks at their degree in the system and it tells us. We just started that system for the December graduation. We used to do it manually. A lot of students would sometimes mistakenly choose the wrong color or something like that, and we'd have to go through and make sure everything is right. Now the system chooses it, and it's perfect. We order them, and the vendor puts the order together. We then have cap and gown distribution two days before the event in the University Center Ballroom.
If a student forgets their cap at home or it doesn't fit, what do they need to do?
I am an over planner, so I always make sure there's more for the students. We always have extras. We always tell students, because students will say, "Oh, I put the wrong cap size, I think my head's smaller or bigger than that" and we're just like "Don't worry about it, we have extras." We bring extras of everything for those "just in case" moments.
What kind of help do you get setting up graduation?
The whole staff is there, and we have a crew that we have on the day that helps us with setting up the stage and helping us line the students up. It really is a team effort. I'm the coordinator, but I do not do this alone, thank goodness. I have a great office here, and a crew there, and the faculty helps out on the platform so everyone is involved in trying to give them an extra special day.
We have an event coordinator, Diane, at the Forum. They are there ushering and handling security and all of those things. Our staff is just for our needs, lining students up, setting up the stage, putting programs in chairs, the details for the commencement day, etc.
What speakers will be at this year's graduation?
The student government president speaks, and then we have two main speakers. For the first ceremony, it is Senator Lamar Alexander and then for the second one it is Tre Hargett. They are chosen out of the president's office. We're also giving an honorary degree to James Ayers.
How long does it take to set up?
We're there at 6:30 in the morning, some of us get there at 5:30 and then we leave about 6 p.m. I want to make sure everything is done before we open the doors, so we are typically done by 8:30. The second ceremony goes a little faster in terms of set up, so it takes two and a half hours on the first one and hour and half for the second one.
What do you like about your job?
I really enjoy it, and I love planning for it because it's such a special day. It's like you're doing the same thing, but it changes all the time because they're new students, and my goal is to make sure students are happy and the guests are happy. I want to make sure once they've filed to graduate, everything else should work like clockwork.
