Spring Convocation 2025: A Call for Convocation Ambassadors
Faculty and staff: Help make Spring Convocation 2025 a success by signing up as a Convocation Ambassador!
Save the date; Spring Convocation ceremonies are coming up, June 4 – 6, 2025 at the Fort Garry Campus! Find the full schedule with ceremony dates and times on the website.
It takes a large team to ensure a safe and successful ceremony for our graduates and their guests. The best way you can help is by signing up as a convocation ambassador (formerly known as usher). This is a great opportunity to contribute to these celebrations and experience the joy and excitement of our graduates and their loved ones.
Dallas Hull has worked as a convocation ambassador for all her 8 years at the University of Manitoba. Now an Admin Assistant to the Vice Provost of Academic Planning and Programs, Hull has always encouraged her coworkers to work at convocation. She says those who participate are always surprised by the energy from graduates and the audience.
“Everyone is excited for convocation day. … You get to absorb that extra energy that you just don’t see on a regular basis. We get caught up in the day-to-day… and you sometimes forget why we’re here, why we’re on campus, why we do everything that we do. When you get to see those families, and the graduates being so excited, it reminds you why we’re here every day.”
Convocation ambassadors are responsible for providing a variety of courteous services to graduates and their guests.
Hull has had memorable experiences with both graduates and their guests. Last spring, Hull recalls crossing paths with a mom who had three restless young kids waiting in the lobby near the end of the ceremony. When Hull asked one of the boys to help her direct graduates to the reception area, his face lit up and he excitedly echoed her every directive to the procession. Hull also loves to hear stories from proud grandparents, some of them there to watch the first person in their family graduating from university, bringing an incredible level of excitement. “They’re giddy, and you get to hear all about that, and you feel it.”
Convocation ambassadors work as part of a team with experienced supervisors to ensure the event runs smoothly. Hull explains that graduates and guests often arrive with little sense of where to go. “If we can do one thing to make the day less stressful, it’s worth it. And we can only do that if we have enough people around to provide that support.”
Most importantly, “[i]t means so much to the students to see the staff,” says Hull. Year after year she sees hugs and high fives when students recognize the staff working as ambassadors. “They see the staff that supported them throughout their entire degree, the people who helped them over the past 4-6 years get to the point where they are. It means a lot to them to get to celebrate with those people.”
Who can help?
Any UM staff or faculty member
ACTION:
If you’re interested in working as a convocation ambassador, please complete this form to join our distribution list. You will be contacted in late April to sign-up.
To learn more, visit the convocation website, and contact kerri.gregoire@umanitoba.ca with questions about being a convocation ambassador.