By the time the last selfie is taken in front of the balloon-wielding James McGill statue, more than 5,000 graduating students will have accepted their degrees during this year’s Spring Convocation ceremonies from May 28 to June 2. And you can bet most, if not all, of them will have posed for a commemorative pic or two. Like proud parents, we took our own pictures to capture the happiest week of the year.
May 29, 2014
By the time the last selfie is taken in front of the balloon-wielding James McGill statue, more than 5,000 graduating students will have accepted their degrees during this year’s Spring Convocation ceremonies from May 28 to June 2.
In addition to the conferring of degrees to students and awards to some of the University’s exceptional faculty and researchers, McGill bestowed honorary degrees upon 14 remarkable individuals, including an ethnographer, a jurist, an architect, scientists and business innovators and leaders.
The following is a selection of pictures from Spring Convocation 2014. This post will be updated every day to include pictures from each subsequent ceremony. Click on each thumbnail to see a larger version of the picture.
The procession for the Continuing Studies ceremony leaves Redpath Hall, marking the beginning of Spring 2014 Convocation. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Chancellor H. Arnold Steinberg enjoys a quiet moment. / Photo: Owen Egan
Graduating students make their way from Redpath Hall to the Convocation tent as part of the Continuing Studies ceremony. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Jason Alexander Hockman, with two records produced while he was studying at McGill for his PhD in music technology. / Photo: Owen Egan
L to R: Sami Semmar, Siyu Wang, Ayane Youssouf Omar and Xumeng Zhang in the Continuing Studies procession. / Photo: Owen Egan
Newly minted Law grads (l to r) Abby Shepard, Michael Ionescu, Lil Kraus and Karine Eigenmann. / Photo: Owen Egan
Winston Purdy marks the beginning of each ceremony by singing the University song, Hail, Alma Mater. / Photo: Owen Egan
The Convocation tent. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Law grad Nicole Duong and Tariq Parchment with their daughter Elsa Parchment. / Photo: Owen Egan
Piper Jeff McCarthy leads the platform party to the Convocation tent. / Photo: Owen Egan
Stuart H. “Kip” Cobbett, Chair of McGill’s Board of Governors, left, and Chancellor H. Arnold Steinberg share a laugh on stage. / Photo: Owen Egan
Law valedictorian Michèle Lamarre-Leroux addresses the crowd. / Photo: Lysanne Larose
The excitement of the day is lost on Malakai Elder-Fernades who is dozing in the arms of newly graduated mom, Emily Elder. Law Dean, Daniel Jutras presides over the scene. / Photo: Owen Egan
Redpath Hall makes a stirring backdrop for graduating students. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Lawrence David, BCL/LLB’14 / Photo: Lysanne Larose
The colour of each hood signifies a different faculty. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
A familiar scene at Convocation. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Marie-Eve Couture Menard and Amar Khoday get ready to accept their Doctor of Civil Law / / Photo: Owen Egan
Graduating students peer from Redpath Hall while another scrambles up the stairs to get ready. / Photo: Owen Egan
David Harpp, University Marshall, checks the procession route. / Photo: Owen Egan
Melissa Austen (left) Miatta Gorvie prior to the Faculty of Law ceremony. / Photo: Owen Egan
Graduating students make their way to the Continuing Studies ceremony. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Stephen De Four-Wyre, BCL/LLB’14, is all smiles. / Photo: Lysanne Larose
Piper Jeff McCarthy has been leading the platform party since 2002. / Photo: Owen Egan
The platform party makes its way past the flowering University crest. / Photo: Owen Egan
Stephen Strople, McGill’s Secretary-General in profile. / Photo: Owen Egan
Ryan Davis (B. Music, viola performance) taking photo with Sean Feguson, Dean of the Schulich School of Music. / Photo: Owen Egan
The Arts Building looms in the background of all Convocation ceremonies. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Graduating Science students begin their procession.
Mary Ellen Turpin-Lafond recives her Honorary Doctor of Laws. / Photo: Owen Egan
Convocating members of the Faculty of Law. / Photo: Owen Egan
A happy day all around. / Photo: Owen Egan
Carle Jane Evans and her family are all smiles after the Law ceremony. / Photo: Owen Egan
An interesting perspective of the platform party. / Photo: Lysanne Larose
Soon they will be crossing the stage to accept their respective degrees. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Choral conductor Wayne Riddell upon receiving his Honorary Doctor of Music. / Photo: Owen Egan
Graduating Mac students make their way up the staircase to the Centennial Centre auditorium. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Law grad Jordan Altman shares the happy moment with Adélaïde Andriot. / Photo: Owen Egan
A moment of reflection at Macdonald Campus for one grad. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Graduating Arts students make their way past the Redpath Museum. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
A solemn piper leads Mac students to their Convocation ceremony. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Arts procession. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Proud Mac grad. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Graduating Engineering students proceed to the Convocation tent under a piper’s watchful gaze. / Photo: Owen Egan
A torrential downpour disrupted the Arts ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. / Photo: Owen Egan
Dean of Students, André Costopoulos, gauges the weather on Tuesday. / Photo: Owen Egan
Danielle Ami Belanger and her classmates during the Education Convocation ceremony. / Photo: Owen Egan
John McCall MacBain addresses the audience after receiving his Honorary Doctor of Laws. / Photo: Owen Egan
Grey skies for the morning Arts ceremony. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Denise Chong addresses graduating Arts students after receiving her Honorary Doctorate of Letters / Photo: Owen Egan
Their was no shortage of recording devices at the Mac ceremonies. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Art students about to graduate. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Mac grads make their way to the auditorium. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Sir Timothy O’Shea (left), Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, presents Chancellor H. Arnold Steinberg with McGill’s new ceremonial mace. / Photo: Owen Egan
Heading to the tent. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Arts valedictorian Rebecca Freya Pearl takes a selfie with classmates in Leacock 132. / Photo: Owen Egan
Graduating Arts students look for friends and family in the crowd. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Arts grads make their way to the tent. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Smiles all around. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Exiting Redpath Hall. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Arts students on their way to the Convocation tent. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Heading to the ceremony at Mac. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Science grads on parade. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
A violent storm dampens proceedings on Tuesday afternoon. / Photo: Owen Egan
Getting organized before a Mac ceremony. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Madonna Achkar, M.Sc. Human Nutrition, gets tapped by Chacellor H. Arnold Steinberg during a ceremony at Mac. / Photo: Owen Egan
Happy paparazzi at Mac. / Photo: Owen Egan
Mac’s bucolic setting makes for great photos. / Photo: Owen Egan
Happy Law grad William Martin, / Photo: Owen Egan
From l to r: Gurdev Singh Kush, honorary doctorate; Chandra Madramootoo, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Philanthropist Lorne Trottier at the afternoon ceremony at Mac. / Photo: Owen Egan
Nothing can hold back this graduating Arts student. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Graduating students at Mac make prepare to cross the stage. / Photo: Owen Egan
Maria Orjuela-Laverde (right) newly minted PhD in Eductaion, with husband Carlos Gomez and their son, Emilio Gomez wearing his homemade graduation regalia. / Photo: Owen Egan
Principal Suzanne Fortier congratulates the Class of 2014 at Macdonald Campus convocation ceremonies in 2014
And so begins the afternoon ceremony at Mac. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Principal Suzanne Fortier congratulates a graduating Arts student. / Photo: Owen Egan
A full house at Mac’s Centennial Centre. / Photo: Owen Egan
Secretary-General Stephen Strople admires McGill’s new ceremonial mace. / Photo: Owen Egan
Precious diplomas were kept dry during Tuesday’s violent thunder storm. / Photo: Owen Egan
Mac procession. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
All systems go at Mac. / Photo: Neale McDevitt
Graduating Science students leave Redpath Hall. / Photo: Neale McDevitt