The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will hold a virtual Honors Convocation and Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 23.
The virtual ceremony will be broadcast on ASMSA’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ARMathSciArts/.
ASMSA has chosen to hold a virtual commencement ceremony to honor the Class of 2020 in addition to an in-person ceremony. The institution’s original ceremony was scheduled for this Saturday, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials ruled out any in-person graduation ceremonies through May. The University of Arkansas System, of which ASMSA is a member institution, further ruled out live graduation ceremonies through July. An in-person ceremony is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 1.
The virtual ceremony will feature five student speakers. Student Government Association President Hays Denney as well as seniors Megan Gray, Macey Ross, Amadeo Scott and Katrina Smith will share special messages with their fellow students. The ceremony also will feature each senior sharing their future plans and scholarship offers. The Class of 2020 includes 107 students.
In addition to the commencement, the Honors Convocation will recognize students for their academic achievements during the 2019-20 academic year. Each academic department recognizes students for their efforts in various disciplines as well as highlights their other outstanding achievements both in and outside of the classroom. The Honors Convocation has traditionally been held before commencement but was prevented by the same social distancing requirements.