LCC graduation is a high-energy affair.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

Solemn it's not.

Sure, they'll play Pomp and Circumstance, and the folks sitting onstage will be decked out in full academic regalia. But don't expect a lot of restrained decorum at today's ceremony for Lane Community College graduates.

"This is not a staid event," LCC President Mary Spilde said. "This isn't a place where you'll be able to hear a pin drop."

Graduation day at LCC is a little bit of a different animal than what you might find at your average four-year university. Spilde calls it a "joyous, poignant, chaotic" day that celebrates people from all walks of life who have achieved all kinds of goals.

They are young and middle-aged, parents and grandparents, rural and urban. They are people who never thought they'd finish high school, much less go to college. They are people left behind in a changing job market who have struggled to catch up. They have overcome personal demons and family tragedies and remade themselves.

Whatever. The point is, this is no time to hold back.

"It's always been a very high-energy event," said student life Director Barb Delansky, who's also the graduation coordinator. "Honestly, for a lot of people in the audience it's like, 'Wow, I never thought I'd see this happen.' '

So it's a lot of cheering and clapping, babies being passed back and forth, high-fives and hootin' and hollerin'.

"You never know what kind of reaction you're going to get as people come across the stage," Spilde said. "My favorite part is just the energy and the joy that is going on among the families and the students who are graduating."

And it's not just your standard, two-year associate's degrees, although plenty of those will be handed out. It's also the people completing one-year or two-year professional and technical programs, people getting their GEDs and developmentally challenged students marking another small step toward a personal goal.

More than 1,000 people will be eligible for degrees, certificates or other kinds of recognition, and about 400 are expected to take part in the ceremony. With all the energy, it's a relatively fast-paced affair with less than an hour devoted to talking and the rest to handing out diplomas (Diploma covers, actually. The real thing is mailed out later.)

Most of all, it is a time for celebration.

"It just gives me goosebumps to think about it," said LCC registrar Helen Garrett. "People have pieced together their lives to make this happen in terms of managing day care, working one or two jobs, taking classes at night. There's no taking this for granted."

LCC GRADUATION

Where: Lane County

Events Center

Time: 4 p.m.; graduates should arrive by 3 p.m., and doors open at 3:30 p.m.

Seating: First-come, first-served; no tickets required

Parking: Free parking at events center

LCC BY THE NUMBERS

Graduates: 1,053 students are eligible for 1,177 degrees and certificates.

Degrees: 452 associate of arts transfer degrees, 349 one- and two-year certificates, 306 associate of applied science, 49 associate of general studies and 21 associate of science