Graduate Information
CAP, GOWN, TASSEL, READER CARD PICK-UP
Graduates are invited to pick up a graduation packet, which includes regalia and a Reader Card, during regular business hours in the bookstore located in Founders Hall (May 20–23).
Students will need to bring their completed Grad Reader Card and be dressed in cap and gown to line up (with Reader Card in hand) according to their academic program by 5 p.m. A Reader Card is used to announce the graduate’s name, degree(s) and/or certificate(s) awarded to the recipient.
DIPLOMAS AND CERTIFICATES
Diplomas and certificates will be available in July. Students will be notified on how to obtain their documents via e-mail. For those finishing requirements during the summer: Diploma/certificate(s) will not be available until September 2024. Students will be notified on directions on how to pick up their documents through their student e-mail accounts.
LINE-UP AND ROBING
Graduates, properly robed, should follow the student marshal’s directions. Bring the completed Reader Card.
How to Properly Wear the Cap (also known as a mortarboard): The inside of the cap will denote which part is worn in front. The top of the hat should be worn level on the head, horizontal to the ground. Undergraduate students should wear the tassel on the right side of their face until instructed during the graduation ceremony to move it to the left side.
PARKING
Parking is available on the Central Campus for graduates and guests in any of the visitor “red” marked parking areas (lots or garages). Please note that Welte Garage, the Student Center Lot, Student Center Garage and Kaiser Lot are the designated areas for parking located closest to Welte Hall. Additional overflow parking is available in Copernicus Garage, Bichum Lot and the Willard-DiLoreto Garage on the south side of the campus. Central Connecticut State University police officers along with additional security staff will be present and we kindly request that you follow their directions for parking. Map of Parking Availability
PHOTOGRAPHS
GradImages® will be photographing all students with the Chief Executive Officer as they receive their diplomas at the Commencement ceremony. Their statement: “GradImages® is proud to support one of the biggest moments in a graduate’s life: walking across the stage and into the next chapter. With over 40 years of experience, we understand the importance of this moment and the desire to preserve these memories for a lifetime. Finding graduate photos after the ceremony is easy. Visit www.GradImages.com to view and purchase custom photo products like prints, plaques, specialty gifts, and more. If there are any questions or concerns regarding the graduate’s photos, please contact the Customer Service Department at 1-800-261-2576, online at www.gradimages.com, or email ecc.giservice@gradimages.net. We have a large team of customer care representatives ready to help graduates and family members with anything they may need.”
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions regarding graduation, please contact the Dean’s Office at 860-343-5855.
Faculty and Staff Information
Offices on CT State Community College Middlesex will be closed at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024, for staff and faculty to participate in the Commencement Ceremony which is being held at CCSU.
Faculty and staff are expected to arrive by 5 p.m. For those participating in the ceremony, you will be directed (by ceremony marshals) to a location that will be available for robing.
The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. sharp.
Venue Information
The Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2024 will be held at Central Connecticut State University, Welte Hall. Doors for guests will open at 5 p.m. Seating is available within Welte Hall on a first-come first-serve basis. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. sharp.
Please note: Balloons are not permitted in Welte Hall.
DIRECTIONS
Central Connecticut State University
1615 Stanley St., New Britain, CT 06050
You may view CCSU’s website Location & Directions | Central Connecticut State University (ccsu.edu) or follow the directions below.
From locations – EAST:
- Take I-84 West to Exit 39A to Rt. 9 South
- Take Exit 38 off Rt. 9 to Ella Grasso Boulevard
- Take a right turn to the university
- Follow signs for Welte Hall or Student Center
Alternate route:
- Take I-84 West to Exit 40, (Corbins Corner)
- Take a left turn at end of exit ramp
- Take a right turn at the next traffic light onto Rt. 71 South
- Follow Rt. 71 South 3 miles to the university.
- Follow signs for Welte Hall or Student Center
From locations – WEST:
- Take I-84 East to Exit 39A, to Rt. 9 South
- Take Exit 38 off Rt. 9 South to Ella Grasso Boulevard
- Take a right turn to the university.
- Follow signs for Welte Hall or Student Center
Alternate route:
- Take I-84 East to Exit 35, Rt. 72 East (New Britain exit)
- Follow Rt. 72 East to Rt. 9 North
- Take Exit 38 to Cedar Street (Rt. 175)
- Continue straight at the end of the exit ramp
- Turn left onto Ella Grasso Boulevard
- Follow signs on campus for Welte Hall or Student Center
From locations – SOUTHWEST (New York area):
- I-95 North to I-91 North to Exit 22 North to Rt. 9 North
- Follow Rt. 9 to Exit 38, Cedar Street (Rt. 175)
- Continue straight at the end of the exit ramp
- Turn left at Ella Grasso Boulevard
- Follow signs on campus for Welte Hall or Student Center
From locations – SOUTHEAST (Rhode Island area):
- Take I-95 South to Rt. 9
- Take Rt. 9 North to Exit 38, Cedar Street (Rt. 175)
- Turn left at the end of the exit ramp
- Continue straight at the end of the exit ramp
- Turn left at Ella Grasso Boulevard
- Follow signs on campus for Welte Hall or Student Center
From locations – NORTH:
- Take I-91 South to I-84 West to Exit 39A, to Rt. 9 South
- Take Exit 38 off Rt. 9 South to Ella Grasso Boulevard
- Take a right turn to the university
- Continue straight at the end of the exit ramp
- Turn left at Ella Grasso Boulevard
- Follow signs on campus for Welte Hall or Student Center
Alternate route:
- Take I-91 South to I-84 West to Exit 40 (Corbins Corner)
- Take a left turn at the end of the exit ramp
- Take a right turn at the next traffic light onto Rt. 71 South, 3 miles to the university
- Follow signs on campus for Welte Hall or Student Center
PARKING
Parking is available on the Central Campus for graduates and guests in any of the visitor “red” marked parking areas (lots or garages). Please note that Welte Garage, the Student Center Lot, Student Center Garage and Kaiser Lot are the designated areas for parking located closest to Welte Hall. Additional overflow parking is available in Copernicus Garage, Bichum Lot and the Willard-DiLoreto Garage on the south side of the campus. Central Connecticut State University police officers along with additional security staff will be present and we kindly request that you follow their directions for parking. Map of Parking Availability
Caps, Gowns, Tassels and Reader Card Pickups
CAP, GOWN, TASSEL, READER CARD PICK-UP
Graduates are invited to pick up a graduation packet, which includes regalia and a Reader Card, during regular business hours in the Bookstore located in Founders (May 20–23).
Students will need to bring their completed Grad Reader Card and be dressed in cap and gown to line up (with Reader Card in hand) according to their academic program by 5 p.m. A Reader Card is used to announce the graduate’s name, degree(s) and/or certificate(s) awarded to the recipient.
PHOTOGRAPHS
GradImages® will be photographing all students with the Chief Executive Officer as they receive their diplomas at the Commencement Ceremony.
Their statement: “GradImages® is proud to support one of the biggest moments in a graduate’s life: walking across the stage and into the next chapter. With over 40 years of experience, we understand the importance of this moment and the desire to preserve these memories for a lifetime. Finding graduate photos after the ceremony is easy. Visit www.GradImages.com to view and purchase custom photo products like prints, plaques, specialty gifts, and more. If there are any questions or concerns regarding the graduate’s photos, please contact the Customer Service Department at 1-800-261-2576, online at www.gradimages.com, or email ecc.giservice@gradimages.net. We have a large team of customer care representatives ready to help graduates and family members with anything they may need.”
LINE-UP AND ROBING
Graduates, properly robed, should follow the student marshal’s directions. Bring the completed Reader Card.
How to Properly Wear the Cap (also known as a mortarboard): The inside of the cap will denote which part is worn in front. The top of the hat should be worn level on the head, horizontal to the ground. Undergraduate students should wear the tassel on the right side of their face until instructed during the graduation ceremony to move it to the left side.
Commencement Speaker
Kara Sundlun is a three-time Emmy-award winning journalist. You can catch her live every weekday as the co-host of Great Day Connecticut with Scot Haney at 3 p.m. on Channel 3. She is also our Chief Digital Anchor bringing you breaking news as it happens on air and on WFSB-Plus as she anchors Eyewitness News at Noon and the Afternoon Rush at 4 o’clock. She also hosts the Kara’s Cures Show that explores the cutting edge of wellness with thought leaders around the world. Listen to it as a podcast on your favorite platform or watch it on WFSB + and our sister station the WAX weekdays at 8:30 a.m.
Every afternoon Kara brings viewers information that informs, entertains and inspires to make life Better!
Kara joined WFSB Channel 3 in 2000 and has covered many of the biggest stories of our time. Kara covered the War in Iraq from the nation’s capital and reported live from Ground Zero after terror attacks on 9-11, even traveling to Bosnia to cover our local troops fighting the war on terror. She also delivered the first live reports of the horrific school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
“I think I have the greatest job in the world. I am a modern day town crier. I can be an Eyewitness to history and help people make their lives better by giving them the information they need.”
Kara is also the author of Finding Dad: From Love Child to Daughter, an inspirational memoir where she shares the story of meeting her biological father Bruce Sundlun when she was a teenager and he was the Governor of Rhode Island. Today she uses her own story to talk about the transformational effect of forgiveness and healing our families. .
Kara received an Emmy Awards for anchoring Breaking News coverage of the Fotis Dulos case as well as true under cover reporting as she went “Swimming with Sharks,” to give us an in-depth look at sharks swimming in New England waters. Kara has also been named “Best Local TV News Reporter” by Hartford Magazine, and was included in the Hartford Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40.
Kara grew up in suburban Detroit, but has many ties to New England with family in Rhode Island. She graduated with honors from the University of Michigan, where she earned a dual degree in political science and communications. Kara started her television journalism career as a youth reporter for WPRI-TV in Providence, R.I. She has also worked in Grand Rapids, Michigan and interned at the White House and CNN’s Washington Bureau. She also studied in Spain and speaks Spanish.
Kara lives in Hartford where you’ll often see her at charity events trying raise money for local causes. She sits on the board of Dress For Success Hartford and the Denise D’Ascenzo Foundation. She is married to fellow journalist Dennis House, and they are proud parents of Helena and Julian.
Student Singer, Speaker & Poet
Student Poet
Information coming soon.
Student Singers
Information coming soon.
Student Speaker
Information coming soon.