MDC To Host Graduation Ceremonies For Class Of 2021 On May 1 At Marlins Park

The Miami Dade College Class of 2021 will get their Pomp and Circumstance during three outdoor graduation ceremonies at Marlins Park, 501 Marlins Way, in Little Havana on May 1. 

“Students work so hard for [years] because they’re managing life and their studies all at once,” said North Campus Interim President Fermin Vazquez. “To be able [to] graduate, to get the diploma, to walk across the stage and to feel a moment of success that they’ve made it [is] really what brings it all together.”

Here is the schedule of the graduations:

• North, Medical and West Campuses will start their ceremony at 8:30 a.m.  
• Kendall, Homestead and Padrón Campuses will follow at 1:30 p.m. 
• Students at the Wolfson and Hialeah Campuses will graduate at 6:30 p.m.

Students who graduated in the Fall of 2020 or are scheduled to graduate by the Spring or Summer 2021 semesters are eligible to participate. The event will also be available via livestream. 

Strict social distancing rules will be implemented. Attendees will be subject to temperature checks upon entering the stadium. They must wear face masks and stay six feet apart at all times. There will be hand sanitation stations available throughout the venue.

The College rented the entirety of Marlin’s Park for the commencement ceremonies, Vazquez said. There will be two parking structures dedicated to the event.

“I’m happy to graduate and I’m looking forward to the future. It’s kind of like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Alana Acevedo, president of the Phi Theta Kappa chapter at North Campus. “I think that given the circumstances, this is the best course of action [to] give graduates [a] glimpse of what a normal commencement would be like and to celebrate [their] achievements.”

Last year’s commencement ceremonies were held during five outdoor events at North and Kendall campuses on Dec. 2, 2020. The graduates walked across the stage without shaking the president’s hand—they received their scroll, had their picture taken and exited the stage. Those ceremonies featured speeches from guests such as Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and the Executive Director of CareerSource South Florida Rick Beasley, as well as from SGA presidents and campus presidents. 

Information about this year’s ceremonies’ speakers and honorees—as well as where students can sign up for commencement and pick up their regalia—will be released at a later time. 

“This accomplishment means so much for the student,” Vazquez said. “But it also means so much for the College, for the faculty, the staff and the administration that have all been cheerleaders of each one of you to ensure you walk that stage.”

Staff writer Ammy Sanchez contributed to this report.