Just as many other colleges and universities have done to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions has shifted its commencement ceremony to a virtual platform.

To commemorate students graduating in the winter of 2020, the university celebrated with its third virtual graduation on Friday.

RMUoHP President Richard P. Nielsen did some calculations prior to the ceremony and found that the graduates on Friday represent over 400,000 hours of dedication to their education.

“When you invest that much of your time, energy, heart, soul and money, it’s only right that there is some sort of a culminating experience to be able to send you from the educational arena out into the world of practice,” Nielsen said. “It’s kind of a right of passage.”

It was an easy decision for RMUoHP back in March, there was no way the students would graduate without the right of passage that is the graduation ceremony, according to Nielsen.

The ceremony is structured in a way that makes it as close to being in person as it possibly can and Nielsen added that he feels as if the university has not missed a beat.

“The first one we did, we actually had to put it together in just a few weeks because that’s how much time we had,” said Tyler Anderson, senior director of university marketing. “We pushed commencement back a couple of weeks to figure things out and put it together but the last two commencements we’ve started planning at least three to four months in advance to coordinate everything that goes into it.”

This third commencement also saw some improvements as the university put out yard signs of each graduate with a picture in front of the building. Each student was also able to write a personalized note on their slide that will be shown during the virtual ceremony.

This was an effort to try and find the little things that could make the graduation more impactful.

When asked about students looking on the bright side with a virtual graduation ceremony, Nielsen cited a quote from John F. Kennedy that spoke about the Chinese language having two brush strokes for the word crisis. One represents the danger while the other represents opportunity.

“Through this whole pandemic we have always taken a stand at RMU to spin the positive side of this thing,” Nielsen said. “Look at the opportunities the pandemic provides rather than get lost in all of the dangers, stress and anxiety that goes with that.”

Instead of celebrating in a large venue with parents and family further away, students are able to celebrate right in their living room with the ones they care about.

Normally the commencement ceremony will limit the amount of people that a graduate can bring with them but with the virtual commencement there are not those restrictions.

While there is still the COVID-19 pandemic and social gathering guidelines, students can celebrate the way they would like to.

“That’s what it’s all about, sharing this experience with family, friends and loved ones,” Nielsen said. “Those who are really, truly behind the scenes and responsible for helping to get these graduates to where they are. I think that’s really an advantage that the students look at.”

When asked about one message he would send to the graduates on Friday, Nielsen focused on continuous learning and how skilled the graduates are.

“Our students today have been trained with skills,” Nielsen said. “Their hands have been trained, their minds have been opened and their hearts have been prepared and softened to really make them go out and become not just healthcare providers, but the best providers that the world could ask for. I encourage them to continue in the lifelong learning process. Commencement means beginning, so this is not the end of anything, this is only the beginning of the new phase in their life.”

The graduating class includes 117 total graduates and 97 commencement participants.

With Friday’s commencement ceremony coming on the heels of hope with the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer, Nielsen is excited about the possibility of having an in-person graduation come the summer of 2021.