Commencement Reimagined: How We Captured a Historic CSU Graduation

From cap tosses to timelapses, here's how CSU Social covered the first University-wide Commencement at Canvas Stadium.

in Campaigns

This May, Colorado State University held its first University-wide Commencement ceremony in nearly 30 years. It was a monumental shift from the 8-10 individual college ceremonies we’ve hosted at Moby Arena in the past. The Class of 2025 gathered in Canvas Stadium, nearly 3,000 strong, for a single, unifying celebration of Ram pride.

For CSU’s Social and Digital Media team, it meant new territory and a huge opportunity to rethink what graduation looks like on social.

Here’s what we did, what worked, and the results we’re proud of.

What we did

This ceremony gave us the space (literally and creatively) to try new ideas. When you’ve worked graduation over and over for many years, you know what a gift this is.

Here are a few wins we’re still thinking about:

Meaningful visual content

We leaned into the moment with a mix of vibey Reels, cinematic video, and high-impact photo posts, especially for Instagram and TikTok. These moments were gold for engagement.

Student-generated genius

Our student co-creators weren’t just helping behind the scenes, they were starring in the show. From creating Reels concepts to starring in Stories to designing day-of graphics to helping create graduation-themed Spotify playlists, their firsthand experience as students and #RamGrads gave everything an extra layer of authenticity.

(Watch the video on TikTok)

Strategic (Collab)orations

On Instagram, we partnered with both President Parsons and Visit Fort Collins to cross-post content and expand our reach.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Amy Parsons (@csuamyparsons)

On LinkedIn, we published a special Commencement newsletter highlighting the weekend.

Screen shot of a LinkedIn Newsletter called "State," featuring articles from Commencement at C S U.

We also filmed TWO The Next 150 Podcast episodes featuring VIP Commencement guests (episodes dropping soon!).

Commencement centerpiece

Our team created a beautiful Tassel-Turning Energy video to kick off the Ceremony. You know we pressed publish on social at the same time.

Informational storytelling

With thousands of grads and even more guests, we had a lot of logistics to communicate (parking, ticketing, schedules, weather, FAQs, and more). We used Stories, X, and clear link-out posts to drive people to the Commencement website, which saw 30,947 unique visitors between May 11–19.

What worked

Our standout post? “A Moment Like This”

  • 92.4K views on TikTok
  • 137.2K views on X
  • 124K+ reach on Instagram


Also notable: our “Choose Your Own Adventure: Commencement Edition” Collab with Visit Fort Collins racked up over 83K views—proof that fun, interactive storytelling still resonates.

We created a Social Display Wall that featured photos submitted by Ram Grads and their guests, which then appeared on the big video board at Canvas Stadium. More than 5,000 graduates, family members, friends and more shared photos to celebrate their graduate.

The results

Let’s talk numbers.

Metric Total
Total Social Posts 62
Total Impressions 1.81M
Total Engagements 86.6K
Engagement Rate 6.55%
Total Comments/DMs 500+
Commencement Website Visitors 30,947
Livestream Views 29,700 (from 18 countries)

The Takeaway

This year, we redefined what Commencement looks like on social (and IRL) at CSU. And we did it with heart, creativity, and serious team hustle.

From pre-ceremony hype to post-cap toss joy, our entire Social and Digital Media team (and our students!) showed up and delivered. We captured the emotion, the scale, and the Ram pride that makes CSU’s graduation experience so unforgettable.

This was a historic moment for CSU. And we’re proud we got to help share it with the CSU community.

Want to see the magic? Explore the Commencement recap on Instagram or relive the vibes on TikTok.