Online College Students Gather Face-to-Face for Celebration of Success

Life for an online student means a lot of video chats, texts, and emails, not much face-to-face contact. That’s why this past summer, ECPI University held its first annual Online Graduate Reception. This inaugural event took place at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach, and over 140 online students, alumni, faculty, and staff attended.

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Graduates came from 11 different states, some as far away as Rhode Island, Illinois, Mississippi, and Washington. The reception gave online graduates and their families a chance to meet online staff and faculty in person, as well as their fellow classmates with whom they had built relationships throughout their online degree programs. In addition to being able to connect with one another, attendees enjoyed food catered by ECPI University’s Culinary Institute of Virginia, participated in drawings for prizes, posed for photos in the photo booth, and toured the museum’s exhibits.

“I just wanted to take in the whole experience of everything from start to finish. And to bring the kids out so they can witness everything, and hopefully inspire them.”
~Network Security graduate Lewis Thompson

Vice President of eLearning and Online Education Aaron Wettstein congratulates the graduates and gave away prizes during his address.

MS Information Systems graduates L’Oreal Likourgos and Jake Davis discuss how they built a friendship at a distance through an online environment.

Business Administration graduate Kari Tench and her family enjoy the photo booth.

Electronics Engineering Technology graduate Jason Reeves won a free diploma frame during the giveaways. He traveled from Illinois with his family to participate in the graduation weekend.

ECPI University:
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