Commencement 2026

Commencement is Northwest University’s showcase event, with thousands of people in attendance. We are so glad you are going to participate.

In this introduction, we want to talk about our philosophy of commencement and give you some tips for making it an excellent experience for you, your family, and other guests.

We think of commencement in two ways.

First, it is a worship service—our chance to rightly honor and thank God for all the things He provided that enabled graduates to reach this important milestone.

Second, it is a celebration of community. High school commencements tend to be individualistic and me-centered—“Hey, look at me, I got my diploma, look at what I did.” At Northwest, commencement is about all of us.

We celebrate individual achievement within the context of the community that provided encouragement and support all along the way. This is why we all wear the same regalia, and we don’t decorate our cap and gown individually.

No one wears a different style of hat. In high school, people color their robes and put Mickey Mouse on their caps in an attempt to put the focus on them. At NU, we celebrate that we are part of a community of scholars graduating together.

So not to worry—we will have extra caps and gowns at the church if, the night before commencement, a gremlin sneaks into your closet in the dark and decorates your robe or cap in any way. We will supply you with a different one.

The one exception to this is a flower lei, because for many, leis have become a part of regular graduation regalia. You are allowed to wear a flower lei if you wish.

This is also the reason that we ask all graduates to stay for the entire ceremony. Please don’t plan to get your diploma and then bug out—we want all of us to be there to cheer for each other.

Overlake Christian Church, where our commencement ceremony is held, is a big, long building with a big, long parking lot. Encourage your guests to arrive 30 to 45 minutes early in order to have time to reach the sanctuary and be seated.

If any of your guests might have difficulty walking from the parking lot, there are drop-off areas on the north and south sides of the church.

Also, if you have friends or family who can’t make it, the ceremony will be live streamed. A link to the live stream will be available at northwestu.edu/commencement.

The hallway leading from the sanctuary is long and narrow. If you want to meet up with your family after the service, suggest that they meet just outside the front door.

Often graduates want to say goodbye to a professor, get a picture taken, and introduce their family. This doesn’t work well after the ceremony—there are too many people in too crowded of a space, and your chances of finding your professor are not good.

The best time to do this is the graduation celebration on Friday night. Your professors want to meet your family and congratulate you. The graduation celebration provides a relaxed time to meet, say thanks, get pictures, and say a proper goodbye.

There’s no chance to do a retake at commencement, so we want to make sure we are prepared to pronounce your name correctly.

Prior to commencement, you’ll receive an email from the faculty members who announce names. They will invite you to call their voicemail to help them know how to pronounce your name correctly.

Also, during the graduate celebration, they will be at the Broding Pavilion at 8 p.m. You can meet them there to coach them on pronunciation.

Please plan to arrive a minimum of an hour before the ceremony starts. We suggest parking on the back side of the church—it will be easier for you to leave afterwards—and save spots in the front for your family and friends.

Don’t forget to bring your cap and gown.

When you enter the Overlake building, your first task is to find the gymnasium. And the first thing you need to do in the gymnasium is to obtain your commencement permit, alphabetized by your last name.

You should have received an email a day or two earlier containing preliminary information as to what color to look for and which line you have been assigned. This will aid you as you look for your permit card in the mix.

There will be staff available to help in any way.

The commencement permit contains all the information needed for the procession. The color of the permit will correspond with the color of your section, both for the line and seating in the auditorium.

There is also a number on the card that indicates your specific spot in the marching order. The name on the card will be announced as you walk across the stage. This will be your last opportunity to adjust the name—such as adding or removing your middle name—or add any pronunciation hints to help the readers.

Keep your permit card with you at all times.

You will also receive a copy of the commencement program. This is a special copy for the graduates, as it contains the responsive scripture reading inside the front cover.

The gymnasium is reserved for graduates only. Please do not attempt to meet your family or guests in this room prior to the event—it will just become too crowded, especially as we get closer to the start time.

It is best to meet with family and guests after the event, but if you need a quick word, then we encourage you to meet with them in the hallway outside the gymnasium.

The gym is where we line up in a very precise order that ensures you will be seated in the right place so as to get to the platform in the correct order.

Your permit will be either yellow, blue, green, or pink. This will designate the line in which you will march, and hence the section of the auditorium in which you will be seated.

In addition to the color, your permit assigns you a marching order number, which designates the order within your color in which you will line up. This in turn translates into the correct order for receiving your diploma cover on stage.

So these are critical pieces.

When you receive your permit, find the corresponding color on the signs along the wall of the gym. Everyone with the blue card will line up behind the blue banner in number order, with blue number one at the sign itself and the successive numbers in a line from there.

Similarly with pink, yellow, and green.

Find your spot early so that if you need to move around, you’ll know where to come back to.

Now, time will fly quickly between your arrival time and the start of the procession. The procession will start whether you are in line or not.

So preparation for the commencement ceremony can be summed up in the answer to these simple questions:
    •    What is your name?
    •    What is your color?
    •    Where is your robe?

Know the answers, and you are good to go.

Don’t lose your commencement permit card.

When the time comes, two lines at a time will file out of the Northwest gym door into the hallway, side by side.

First will be blue and yellow, with the blue permit line to the left and the yellow line to the right.

Next will be pink and green, with the pink permit line to the left and the green to the right.

Pink number one needs to follow right after the last person in the blue line, and green number one needs to follow right after the last person in the yellow line.

If you are going to carry one of the flags—the American flag and the Northwest University flag—in the processional, you need to line up initially according to your permit color and number so you know with whom you will be seated.

Be sure to make personal contact with the graduates who will be sitting on either side of you, and ask one of them to carry your permit for you. This will also be a reminder to them that they need to save a seat between them for you.

While you are standing on stage with the flag—before returning to your seat, locate your seat so you know where to go at the conclusion of the processional.

This is the order in which the processional will happen:

The Deans will lead the processional, carrying the banners for their college or school. They will be standing along the north wall of the gym, and we will send them out at the appropriate time to take their station at the entrance to the sanctuary.

The 50-year alumni will follow the Deans. A number of faculty ushers will be next, proceeding to assigned locations to assist in directing the lines of graduates.

The Faculty Marshal will then lead the flag bearers and all the graduates out from the gym in the color number order discussed earlier.

Here’s what that will look like: in two distinct lines, you will proceed down the long hallway between the faculty who will line the walls on either side. The faculty will be clapping and cheering for you. Do not stop to try to shake hands, high five, or fist bump at this time—just enjoy their affirmation of you.

At the end of this hallway, the left line will take the left-hand stairway, and the right line will take the right-hand stairway.

At the top of the stairs, the left line will continue around the left side of the sound booth, and the right line around the right side, coming together again at the front of the booth.

Proceed in the two lines down the center aisle until you meet the faculty ushers, who will direct you from there.

The left blue line will be sent to the left edge, and the right yellow line to the right. Faculty ushers will meet you at each point and direct you so that you end up in the correct row. Follow their instructions.

When you go into a row, make sure that every seat is filled and none are left unoccupied, except if you are saving one for a flag bearer. There is not extra space, and we need every seat filled.

When the graduates have all reached their seats, please remain standing. The faculty will file in, led by the president and the provost. They will be coming down the center aisle.

As they enter, it is time for you to return the applause and affirmation they gave you when you marched between them.

And now the point we’ve all been waiting for: receiving your diploma. Follow these instructions to make sure the main event comes off smoothly.

Here’s the overview:
One, getting to the platform.
Two, your name.
Three, hooding, handshake, diploma.
Four, getting off the platform and the photo booth.
Five, returning to your seat.

Getting to the platform

The Faculty Marshal, with mace in hand, will instruct students row by row to exit their row to the right, walk to the front, then head to the far right end of the stage on the other side of the banners, where they will ascend the stairs to the platform.

The most important thing to remember at this point is: do not leave your seat without your permit. You need to carry it with you to the platform so that your name will be announced as you cross the stage.

Your name

On the platform, you will be directed toward the podium where you will hand your permit to the announcer, and when the registrar taps you on the shoulder, step forward to walk toward your hood (for doctoral and master’s degrees) and/or your diploma (all graduates).

Do not wait for your name to be called before moving forward. At the registrar’s urging, it will be timed for your name to be announced while you are already walking.

Hooding, handshake, diploma

Master’s and doctoral graduates receive a hood as part of the ceremony.

When the registrar taps your shoulder, you will walk to the spot marked on the carpet between your dean and the provost, turn and face the audience. The dean and provost will hood you.

Unless you are over seven feet tall, do not lean back, do not squat down—just stand straight and smile at the audience. The dean and provost know what to do.

They will then tap you to go to the president for your diploma cover. Receive the diploma in your left hand as you shake hands with the president with your right, then continue across the stage to shake hands with the senior member of the faculty.

Undergraduate students: walk directly to the president for your diploma. Receive the diploma cover in your left hand as you shake hands with the president with your right, then continue across the stage to shake hands with your dean and with the provost.

Getting off the platform and the photo booth

After you shake hands with everyone, continue walking to the stairs at the end of the stage. Do not walk down the stairs at the front of the stage.

At the end of the stage, you’ll be greeted by the NU Alumni Association, and then go down the stairs and enter a photo area where your official graduation picture will be taken in front of the Northwest University banner.

Returning to your seat

After the photo, you will return to your seat by walking along the front, then up the appropriate aisle so that you enter your row again from the same aisle as when you initially marched in, turning left into your row.

The final act of the commencement ceremony is the recessional. Here is how it’s going to work:

After the amen of the benediction, the Faculty Marshal will be standing front and center on the main floor. Please remain in your place.

The president and the provost will lead the faculty seated on the platform back down to the main floor and up the center aisle, in a direct reversal of the way they entered.

When the last members of the faculty line start up the center aisle, the Faculty Marshal will direct the new graduates in the front and center rows of the center section to follow the faculty, followed by the second row, third row, and so forth.

While they are exiting, graduates in the outer sections should remain standing at their seats.

When the center section has exited, the Faculty Marshal will direct the outer sections, row by row, to cross in front of the stage and go up the center aisle behind the graduates from the center section.

Thus endeth the pomp—but we have a bit more circumstance to discuss.

First, our ceremony is filmed and will be available for you to see on YouTube.

Second, photos of the graduation ceremony, as well as individual diploma photos, will be available through a link on the Northwest University website. The registrar’s office will send you an email when they’re available.

Commencement is the highlight of our academic year. It will be a great ceremony—we’re so glad you’re going to be a part of it. I look forward to seeing you there.