Grads aplenty: DCU Center home to increasing number of high school and college graduations

WORCESTER — Shake hands with the right, take the diploma with the left and smile for the camera.

That’s a quick moment for one person, but for a venue holding graduation ceremonies it means days-long efforts to prepare for thousands of graduating students and their families walking across the stage.

The story is the same every year for the DCU Center, and it will be slightly busier this May and June when two more local colleges are added to their list of about 20 schools that will see their alums walk across the stage on their special day.

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James Moughan, the assistant general manager at the DCU Center, said that between the colleges and high schools holding ceremonies at their venues, thousands of people per school are expected to cheer on students as they turn into alumni with one handshake.

Two of the colleges, Clark University and WPI, will hold them there for the first time.

“It's been growing each year and we've been working on securing some of the others or telling them how we can make it easier for them,” said Moughan. “They all understand once they get here that doing it here in a weather-controlled area versus being outside on your campus makes it a lot easier for the guests to view it.”

The colleges are set to hold their graduations at the center’s arena, which Moughan said to hold between 8,000 and 10,000 people.

In addition to the two newcomers, colleges also include the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester State University, Assumption University, Anna Maria College, Quinsigamond Community College, Nichols College and Framingham State University.

While Wachusett Regional High School students will use the arena for its ceremony, the other high schools have booked one of the center’s exhibit halls, where Moughan said the capacity is about 2,500 once a tiered stage is set up across from where families and friends will watch from the main floor.

The high schools include North, South, Burncoat, Doherty Memorial and Worcester Technical high schools, as well as Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School, Assabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, Shepherd Hill Regional High School and Nashoba Regional High School.

A representative for the Worcester Public Schools said the city paid $33,350 for its five high schools to hold their graduation ceremonies at the DCU Center in 2023. He added that the department has budgeted about $35,000 for the upcoming ceremonies this year.

With 10,000 students and 85,000 guests between all schools, Moughan said that the economic impact of graduations in the city is estimated at around $4 million every year.

“Holding a graduation here makes it a lot easier for the guests to view it and enjoy the facility and the graduation versus being outside on your quad,” said Moughan. "If it's a rainy day, that’s not nice, or if it’s a hot day under a tent, that tent is blazing.”

Jennifer Parissi-Forti, the director of presidential and institutional events at WPI, echoed Moughan, saying that the school’s two-day graduation ceremony reached a point where it needed a bigger space.

This year, the school’s graduations include 1,200 undergraduates taking the stage Friday morning, while 880 graduate students are set to walk across the stage Thursday evening.

“By holding the graduations at the DCU Center, we can allow our graduates to receive more tickets for their families and friends, which is a huge benefit,” said Pariss-Forti. “We live in New England, which makes climate control another deciding factor as we don’t have to build a tent for the attendees.

“This is most likely a permanent change, especially as our class size will get incrementally larger.”

The sentiment was shared by Sheri Davis, the event director at Clark University, who said that among other reasons, the school made the decision to shift to the DCU Center because of how it outgrew the outdoor area where the school set up to hold its graduation ceremonies.

Davis said the school expects 1,250 students in its one-day ceremony on May 20, which includes graduate and undergraduate students. On top of that, the thousands of family and friends in the mix makes it even more difficult to plan the logistics.

“Most important are the students and families are in a protected area from weather,” said Davis. “We outgrew the capacity and we had to limit our tickets.”

Here’s a full list of graduations held at the DCU Center this year, according to its events calendar:

Nichols College – May 4

WPI – May 9 and 10

Assumption University – May 12

Anna Maria College – May 13

Quinsigamond Community College – May 17

Worcester State University – May 18

Framingham State University – May 19

Clark University – May 20

College of the Holy Cross – May 24

North High School – May 29

Bay Path Regional High School – May 31

Assabet Valley Regional High School – June 1

Shepherd Hill Regional High School – June 2

Worcester Technical High School – June 3

Doherty Memorial High School – June 4

South High School – June 5

Wachusett Regional High School – June 6

Burncoat High School – June 7

Nashoba Regional High School – June 9

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: DCU Center preps for graduation season, adds Clark and WPI