One ceremony will be held this winter to celebrate more than 130 graduates who identify with our historically excluded communities. The Multicultural Center at the University of Nevada, Reno’s vision is to “graduate a socially aware, compassionate global citizen that makes the world around them a better place.” Year-round, the Center works to recruit students, develop leadership programs on campus, and offer services to students for five main identity groups including Asian Pacific Islander Student Services, Black Student Services, Indigenous Student Services, Latinx Student Services and LGBTQIA+ Student Services.

The ceremony will be held in the Joe Crowley Student Union Ballrooms on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, from 6 to 8 p.m. Graduates participating in the ceremony are welcome to invite their friends and family, and the entire Wolf Pack community is also welcome to attend. Graduates participating in the ceremony will receive a blue and silver cord to wear with their graduation regalia. 

“This ceremony celebrates our University's most diverse graduates and future BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ graduates,” Assistant Director of the Multicultural Center Markie Wilder said. “The Unity Graduation Celebration recognizes students’ success with their families in a more intimate setting.”

Unlike the larger Winter Commencement ceremonies, which take place on Saturday, Dec. 9, in Lawlor Events Center, the friends and family of the grads can be active participants in the ceremony.

“Many of our students have their loved ones who have been the most significant contributors to their success place the cords around their necks as they walk across the stage,” Wilder said.

While an email was already sent to grads to register for the event, it is not too late to decide to come. Graduates who wish to walk across the stage in the ballrooms can still show up at 5 p.m. on the day of the celebration, Friday, Dec. 8, and contact the organizers to participate.

For more information, please visit The Center’s Affinity Graduate Celebrations webpage.