Convocation is truly one of those beautiful moments at Queen’s University.

Students are receiving their degrees – whether Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctorate – and celebrating the successful completion of years of dedication and study.

It also is a time of celebration for families, friends and faculty members who have helped guide and support them along the way or at least bore witness to their academic evolution, the ups and downs, the triumphs and struggles, the joy and the uncertainty.

These are life moments. These are days that will remain cherished memories for the thousands who arrive at Queen’s to fill Grant Hall.

To ensure that all goes well throughout Spring Convocation – all 21 ceremonies – there is a massive amount of work that goes on, much of it behind the scenes or completed weeks, even months, ahead of time.

There are many moving parts that help make Convocation a reality, from gathering all the names of the graduates, organizing schedules and preparing gowns to setting up the audio-visual systems, preparing all the seating and making sure that everyone knows where they need to be and what they are doing.

It is a pan-university effort, starting with the Office of the University Registrar and enlisting the support of practically every department.

There are hundreds of people involved, each with tasks that play a role in making each convocation ceremony something special.

From senior administration and faculty to full-time staff, to part-timers and volunteers, from veterans with decades of experience to new arrivals, they all take pride in their work

Here is a look at just a few of the many people who help make convocation a special time:

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At each Spring Convocation ceremony there is a man who can be seen at the back of Grant Hall.

Donning a sharp shirt and tie, he is scanning the room, directing people to open seats or keeping the aisles clear as the procession enters or leaves the building.

Often he can be seen pacing, typing away, at times frantically, on his cellphone.

But this is no idle chatter. Andre DeParolis is keeping his finger on the pulse of the ceremonies as they happen. He is keeping in touch with the many people who bring the convocation ceremonies to life. He’s coordinating, moving resources, putting out any figurative fires.

While he is the de facto flight director on the day of the ceremonies, the organization and preparation work begins months earlier, he explains. It’s this work that ensures success.

The result is a moment in time that will remain with each graduate.

“It is a really well-run ceremony and we have 21 overall,” DeParolis says. “After you finish the first, second or third ceremony it kind of becomes automatic but that’s only because we prepared for convocation three, four, six months before. There’s a really strong foundation of organization, of volunteers, of staff members, who all have an individual purpose for convocation. They do their jobs very, very well and as we get closer to the day of the first ceremony, it just sort of clicks together like a puzzle.”

While the work of convocation reaches across the university, it all comes back to DeParolis when the ceremonies begin.

It’s a busy time, a stressful time. But he doesn’t mind.

“It’s a different kind of stress. It’s kind of like planning a wedding, a happy occasion,” he says. “Once you arrive the stress kind of melts away because you’re doing it for a good cause. You want to impress, you want to make the day fun for the graduates.”

With one ceremony over, it’s time for the next, and the next and the next. And each one is a beautiful creation.

•   •   •

It’s an off day – there are no convocation ceremonies, that is – but the audio-visual team is busy. A day earlier the Smith School of Business celebrated the graduation of its students in the Commerce program, which is the only one of the 21 Spring Convocation ceremonies that is not held at Grant Hall.

To facilitate all the graduates and their families in one ceremony, the event is held at the Main Gym of the Athletics and Recreation Centre.

For the team that means packing and moving all of their equipment and setting up in a very different venue. Once the ceremony is over, it’s back to Grant Hall and setting up once again.

It’s a lot of hard work, but for the team, they don’t mind one bit.

“It’s the highest profile event of the year. It’s the reason we are all here – to graduate students,” says Steve Bowden, who heads up the team. “The only time the AV team gets noticed is when there’s a problem, and that’s the way it should be.”

“It’s all about them. This is their day, not our day, so we want it to go well and that there’s nothing that interferes with their service,” adds Bill Deadman, who along with Dave Smith and Ralph Connors make up the crew. “All their hard work is done so this is the time for them to celebrate.”

Bowden and Deadman handle the audio side of the equation. As they set up there are checks, double-checks and verifications. Sound levels are measured and equipment is tested.

Every microphone has a backup – just in case. They want the switching to be seamless, mutes are confirmed. The experience for attendees should be organic, natural, and that means the crew has to be focused throughout each ceremony.

Having started at Queen’s in 1988, Bowden, by his own count, will have attended 446 individual ceremonies once this convocation season comes to an end. Deadman arrived not too long after when Bowden brought him on board.

One of the perks of the job has been meeting some of the VIPs who have received an honorary degree.

“We’ve done such a wide variety of honorary degree recipients as well and that’s pretty neat,” Bowden says. “We’ve done everything from royalty with Prince Charles and Lady Diana, we’ve had prime ministers, high-level government people, high-level business people, actors and musicians. We’ve even had a former president with Jimmy Carter. So we’ve had the chance to be involved in ceremonies with some internationally-famous people.”

“It’s pretty cool,” Deadman adds with a smile.

•   •   •

Just before the graduates climb the stage at convocation, they must check in at a desk filled with little white tubes.

In each tube is the end result of years of tests, hard work and determination. It’s the treasure that has brought them back to Queen’s University on that given day.

The graduates hand over their name card, and receive a tube in return. The line of tubes disappears and is replenished over and over again until they are all gone. At the desk for most ceremonies are two women. Gerry D’Amore is the one who hands over each degree. Beside her Carol Adam keeps things organized and in line.

Both understand the importance of their jobs and approach it with professionalism, and that includes supporting the graduates as the big moment nears. They are among the last people they see before taking to the stage.

“This a really special time for them so I try to make them relax,” D’Amour says, adding that some graduates are very nervous, worried that they might slip or take a wrong turn. “I call them by their first name and just help them get on stage, taking the next step and the next step.”

The work can be frenetic, especially at the bigger ceremonies where up to 400 degrees are handed out, but thanks to weeks of work by the Office of the University Registrar, everything is in its place and organized.

“We spend a lot of time in the office and proofread all the diplomas and read them, roll them and label them so they are ready,” says Adam. “Then we put them in order by degree and ceremony and alphabetically.”

The tubes are then packed in boxes of 10 and put away until the day of the ceremony.

Both D’Amore and Adam say they enjoy being part of convocation.

I love it. I really do enjoy seeing the students and that’s why I do it,” says D’Amour. “There is pressure (to get it right). But we are very organized and it all comes together.

•   •   •

Before the start of each convocation ceremony, there is a cacophony of sound. Families and friends wait in excitement for their graduand. Conversations continue, children cry, chairs shuffle.

But with the first reverberating notes from the mammoth musical instrument, located on the balcony of Grant Hall, all other noise disappears.

It’s time for the ceremony to begin.

The instrument is a tracker organ, the only one of its kind in the Kingston region, and, the majority of the time for the past 26 years, the musician seated in front of it is Mark Sirett.

Among the songs he plays for each ceremony such as God Save the Queen and O Canada is one that stands out above all others – Flourish for the Chancellor, a composition written specially for convocation by the late Queen's music professor Fred Clarke.

And that is exactly what it does – the composition, as played on the organ, adds a great flourish to a ceremony that Sirett knows is special and is happy to play a role in.

“It’s a beautiful ceremony and there’s a lot of dignity. It’s very thoughtful and I think very meaningful for all the graduates and their families,” he says. “I’m always thrilled to play for convocation. For me it’s an opportunity to see young people that I’ve worked with over the years finish their university career but also launch into the next stage of their life.”

Like many of the traditions surrounding Queen’s it is hard to imagine a convocation ceremony without those beautiful, booming notes welcoming everyone to Grant Hall.