LA GRANDE — Most years, Eastern Oregon University’s graduation takes place in Community Stadium, with extra stands brought in to accommodate the large number of families and friends in attendance.

This year, there were no extra seats brought in — in fact, there were no seats at all.

The 2021 commencement was a drive-thru ceremony, meaning that each graduate could only bring a car full of people to watch them walk across the stage to receive their diploma from University President Thomas Insko before returning to the car and exiting the school.

The ceremony, which took place on Saturday, June 12, on the west side of the EOU campus, was the result of months of deliberate planning, according to Vice President of University Advancement Tim Seydel.

“We came up with the idea of the hybrid drive-thru, which decreased all of the in-person contact but still gave students the chance to walk across the stage,” he said. “When we talked to students, they were really excited. We didn’t want to push it off again, so doing it in person was a big hope.”

Walking out of cars adorned with balloons, banners and other decorations, 236 graduates crossed the stage for more than 2½ hours, including a few 2020 graduates who had a virtual commencement last year.

“It feels very surreal,” said Megan Brown, who graduated in 2020 with a degree in business administration. “Having an actual ceremony feels so much better than the 3-second blip last year. I worked really hard to graduate a year early, so it feels good for my son to be here and watch me cross the stage.”

This year’s ceremony also included graduates from Oregon State University’s Agriculture and Natural Resource Program at EOU and Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing La Grande Campus, which usually holds a separate commencement ceremony.

In total, 745 students graduated from EOU this academic year, many of whom could not attend the ceremony. According to Seydel, this will likely be the last graduation restricted in size due to COVID-19.

“In previous years, this is normally a huge event, there’s thousands of people that come to the stadium, and it’s just a really overwhelming and fun experience,” he said. “We’re hoping that next year we’ll be able to do it normally again, with families and students in the stadium.”

MJ Mori, who graduated with a degree in psychology, said she is thankful for the university community for helping her throughout her four years on campus.

“It was a lot of fun. People here enjoy helping others and as long as you reach out, there are always people to help you,” Mori said. “I love EOU, thank you for teaching me so much and helping me whenever I needed it.”

Last fall, the university resumed some in-person instructions, with about half of the classes for the 2020-21 school year taking place in classrooms, according to Seydel.

“I think what’s special about this class is that they’ve gone through a lot,” he said. “Last spring, they found out they weren’t going to be able to return to the in-person experience that they were so used to, so that’s why we pushed so hard to return to in-person programming over the last year.”

Brandon Porter, who is on the men’s basketball team and plans to return next year to earn his master’s of arts in teaching, said he is thankful for the school’s efforts to organize a live commencement.

“I’m feeling excited and fortunate to have an actual graduation ceremony,” he said. “I’m just thrilled to be here and see my accomplishments pay off. I’ve found such a close-knit family here, and that’s what I love about the community.”