UVA Alumni Quota Filled in 2 Days for Graduation Help

Quana Dennis still feels the energy from walking the Lawn at his 2023 University of Virginia graduation. The cheers, the personalized balloons marking his elementary education degree, his family's faces in the crowd—it's a moment he wants to pay forward.

This year, he's one of more than 100 UVA alumni and family members coming back to volunteer at Final Exercises. It's the first time the university has organized alumni support on this scale for the graduation ceremony.

The idea started with a simple question. Andrea Devine, senior director for volunteer engagement, asked Cecil Banks, executive director of UVA's Office of Major Events, what would happen if they invited nearby alumni to help create that same magic for new graduates.

They sent emails to alumni living within an hour of Charlottesville with a straightforward pitch: Remember how special your walk down the Lawn felt? Come help the Class of 2026 experience that same joy.

The response erased any doubt about whether alumni would show up. Volunteer spots filled within two days.

"As an alumnus, I know how special UVA is," Banks said. "They remember how special and memorable their walk down the Lawn was, and I think they want to make it special for the Class of 2026."

The Ripple Effect

Volunteers will staff information tents, help with ticket questions, and join the balloon brigade. That last role carries special meaning—collecting graduates' personalized balloons as they walk the Lawn and delivering them to young patients at UVA Health Children's.

For Dennis, who volunteered at graduation ceremonies as an undergraduate before experiencing his own, the chance to give back felt natural. He's now pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education and administration at UVA.

His advice to this year's graduates? Put your phone away for a few minutes. "It's going to be tempting to take pictures and record," Dennis said, "but just take in everything that's happening in that present moment."

The volunteer effort sends a message beyond logistics, Devine noted. It shows students the lasting value of giving back to their community.

Within 48 hours, UVA proved its graduates carry that lesson with them long after they walk the Lawn.