Flight of the Nighthawk: Spring 2023 Commencement Is Monday, May 15. Volunteers Needed!

March 31, 2023 / Faculty/Staff Highlights

NOVA’s Spring 2023 Commencement will be here before we know it! On May 15, we will puff out our chests and watch with pride as our NOVA Nighthawks fly off to make their tremendous mark on this world. Under the direction of Dr. Beatrice McKeithen (acting vice president of EMSS) and Dr. Richmond Hill (Administrative Council commencement liaison), the Commencement Committee has been working diligently on the five million details required to pull off this incredible event and make our Nighthawks’ big day one they will remember for a lifetime!

Here is What We Know:

  • Commencement will be held on Monday, May 15, 2023.
  • There will be two ceremonies:
    • 10 a.m. for graduates whose last names begin with A through K
    • 3 p.m. for graduates whose last names begin with L through Z
  • The ceremonies will be held again this year at:
    • George Mason University’s Eagle Bank Arena, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, Va.
  • Students should have applied to graduate by March 1.
  • Students should R.S.V.P. that they plan to walk in the ceremony by April 15.
  • Spring 2023 Commencement Website:  https://www.nvcc.edu/commencement/#graduates
  • The NOVA Choir will sing the National Anthem.
  • Our Commencement Speaker for both ceremonies will be: Dr. Melissa Lucas, PhD, post-doctorate associate in the Child Study Center at Yale School of Medicine (and she is also a NOVA alumna!).


Here is What We Need:

  • To make this behemoth event a reality, we need hundreds of volunteers:
    • approximately 20 faculty marshals for each ceremony (Marshals must provide their own regalia.)
    • approximately 100 general volunteers for each ceremony

All volunteers and marshals will receive full training!

Are you available to Volunteer? If so, please:

      • Save the date on your calendar. If you volunteer, please do all you can to attend!
      • Please let us know in what ceremony you are available to volunteer (10 a.m.? 3 p.m.? 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.? Set-up? Tear down/Clean Up?)
      • If you are available to volunteer, please contact Professor Lisa Riggleman-Gross (LRiggleman@nvcc.edu) by 12 p.m., Friday, March 24th.
      • Please follow this link to sign up.
      • More information regarding the Commencement ceremonies will be forthcoming as we get closer to the event.

      • Dr. Richmond Hill, provost of NOVA’s Woodbridge Campus and commencement liaison for the Administrative Council will head up the Platform Party of approximately 30.

        • Are you available to be part of the Platform Party (the faculty, senior level administrators, board members and officials who sit on the stage during the ceremony)?

          • If you are available to serve as a member of the platform party, please contact Dr. Hill (RHill@nvcc.edu) as soon as possible!
            Each will wear the graduation regalia from the institution from where they graduated.

If you’re able, please join with us in celebrating our Nighthawks! This is a monumental day for them, and for us as we watch them take flight! Contact Professor Lisa Riggleman-Gross (novagradteam@nvcc.edu) if you have any questions about volunteering.

Submitted by:
Lisa Riggleman-Gross, WO-Sociology, LRiggleman@nvcc.edu