Saint Joseph College Traditions and Customs
Throughout the course of the academic year, the College community participates in a number of campus-wide traditions. From the official opening of the school year (Convocation,) to the completion of the College experience (Commencement,) students, family, faculty, administration and staff share in the ritual and traditions of Saint Joseph College. What follows is a brief description and history of each of the major customs. As you proceed through the academic year, we invite you to reflect on the meaning of community and the power of tradition.
Each fall, Convocation welcomes new and returning students in a traditional academic ceremony. Convocation as we now know it, began in 1987. Prior to 1987, the opening of the academic year was marked by a welcoming Mass. The modern-day Convocation blends the spiritual with the academic, while retaining the original intent. The purpose of Convocation, according to former president and current archivist Sister M. Consolata O'Connor, is to "begin the year by asking the Lord to bless our learning." Each year, the community gathers in The Connor Chapel of Our Lady and asks for God's blessing and guidance in the coming academic year. Following welcoming remarks by the President Pamela Trotman Reid, the faculty winner of the John J. Stack Teaching Excellence Award addresses the congregation.
Saint Joseph celebrates Family Day each fall, a College-wide celebration of the SJC community. Festivities include Blue Jays athletics, a barbecue lunch, craft booths, games and more fun for the whole family!
Investiture marks a significant event in the life of a scholar. It commemorates the advanced academic standing of members of the junior class by dressing the students in the scholar's garb for the first time. Juniors process to The Chapel in academic gowns and receive their caps from faculty members. The College first celebrated Investiture in 1934 in a ceremony that coincided with the Feast of the Presentation. Following Mass, juniors recited the "Catholic Students Prayer" and received communion. Although the ceremony has changed over the years, the intent remains the same: Investiture provides an opportunity for the College community to recognize the students' academic advancement and to ask for God's continued blessing.
Since 1978, the College community has celebrated the Advent season with The Festival of Lights. A joyful celebration of music, dance and liturgy, the festival involves many members of the community as active participants. Students, faculty and staff read from the scriptures and the College's combined choirs and liturgical dancers perform throughout the ceremony. "The idea," said Sister Consolata, "is to bring the community together to celebrate the season with music, dance and a selection of readings." The Festival ends with a traditional lighting ceremony in which a light is passed throughout the congregation until all hold a lighted candle.
As a tradition, Baccalaureate Mass dates back to the first graduating class of Saint Joseph College. Essentially, it is a mass held the Saturday prior to Commencement Sunday and it celebrates the accomplishments of the graduating seniors. Baccalaureate Mass unites the community in worship one final time to bless the graduating students as they move into the working world. Commencement, of course, is the final ceremony of the college experience. Each May, graduating students of the Women's College, Weekend Program for Adult Learners and Graduate School receive their diplomas and move into the role of Saint Joseph College alumnae/i.
