UPM 44th Convocation Day - Mishap on stage | Master Journey #24 [THE END]

Assalamualaikum

After continuous postponement because of CoViD-19, 5695 UPM graduates of 2020 were celebrated in UPM 44th Convocation day held from 9 to 13th January 2022. 

When I first came to UPM in 2018, it was convocation week. Vehicles never leave the UPM street in silence. There were faculty exhibitions, agriculture expo, livestock exhibition, plant and seedling sales. It was a festive season. Something I expected to experience for my own graduation.

But, things didn't happen the way I anticipated. My ceremony was held in modesty and at a bare minimum, offline. 

Was I upset? A bit. But no worries, I am already over it a year ago 😅. I'm just grateful that I could walk up the stage in good and healthy condition. 

Pre-Convo

The graduation fee payment was made during the submission of the thesis hardbound. RM200 - not include the price for the studio and stage photo (both paid separately). 

Stage Photo

Price package for the stage photo.

Engraved gold logo on the photo frame 

Took me three days before my session to realize the package I took (courtesy of my brother) did not include the studio photo.

Studio Photo

Package A for student solo shot was RM120. Package B for Student + Family was RM160. It's optional. I say it was affordable because of the promo price.

UPM Convocation attire

It was compulsory to fill up the Graduate Tracer Study form online. It's a Ministry of Higher Education survey for graduates' job status and getting feedback about the learning institutes. Students have to submit it to the convocation committee to collect the convocation attire.

UPM robe colour is maroon.  For my master attire, the sleeves have two silver stripes. Degree attire has one silver stripe. PhD has triple golden stripes and a bonnet instead of a mortarboard.  

Two stripes

Pre-convo photoshoot. Even for my Bachelor's graduation, I never did it. Maybe because I was in Terengganu and my robes always sat in Selangor because my brother helped to pick it up for me. 

Happy Convocation Day (D-Day)

Assembly

We left Puchong at 6:30 am, racing to UPM before 7:15 am. I actually forgot the route to UPM. Anyways, cars aren't allowed to enter the campus. They needed to be parked at Padang Kawad Kaki UPM, outside of the main gate. 5 minutes walking distance to the hall. 

Busses were provided to transport the students from padang kawad to the hall venue.

But, I walked. 

My parents dropped me in front of the gate before they fetched their breakfast somewhere at kedai mamak. I already had mine. A glass of Milo and bread. 

The ceremony followed the SOP Guidelines strictly. So, the usual -  scan the QR code, temperature check, 1-meter distance and wear UPM mask. At 8 am, we paraded into the hall.

Inside the hall

With a capacity of 4000, only students were allowed to sit inside. Parents or guardians can't enter. 

I found out days later that UPM actually allocated Dewan Kolej for parents to rest and watch the ceremony online. My parents sat at the photo studio venue the whole time 😅.

Mishap on stage

My program was conferred second for the master's programme. Master of Science. 

A worst-case scenario that could happen on stage - the mortarboard fell. My head is big, but luckily, the board velcros were holding on to each other like a champion... 

So, no. That was not the mishap that happened on stage. For my programme, we had a human error. Because of one mistake, it caused a domino effect. 

The screen displayed the wrong student detail for all of the Master of Science graduates.

This is me. But that is not my details 😥

The committee accidentally gave the first Master of Science (MSc) student's card to the prior programme - the Putra Business School. So, the first MSc student screen had the display of the second MSc student's name.  🤦🏻‍♀️. 

Everything went well after. The event finished early 5 minutes than scheduled.

Post-event

Taking pictures, selfies or group photos outside of the hall was not permitted. 

UPM prepared busses to transport the students back to padang kawad kaki. From there, another busses were prepared, ready to take students and parents to the studio photo venue. But I didn't ride it. My parents were already there. The studio set-up was just across the field...So I ran.

Photo studio venue at KMR OnePutra Residence

I was the first student to take photos at the studio 😆, so no need to queue. Then I had the last photography moments with Kak Shy and Nani. It was kind of pity that us four (including Kak Liza) - the UIA alumni to UPM - can't graduate altogether in one ceremony. 😥

After that, I sent the graduation attire back, collected my degree certificate, received some alumni goodies and rode straight home to Terengganu.

So, I guess this is the end of the two and half years of my Master's journey, and another a year and a half for graduation. 

The End

p/s: This post has been hibernated in my draft for three months 👁👄👁