Commencement
The 2023 Commencement ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 1st at 2:00 p.m. on CSG's main campus.
The first school graduation in 1899 was the culmination of the founders’ dreams. Two girls received diplomas in a ceremony conducted in the schoolhouse on East Town Street. Dressed in white frocks and carrying field daisies, the graduates set the pattern for future celebrations. The daisies were replaced by red roses in 1905, but the long white gowns and many of the elements that contributed to the pomp and circumstance have remained.
Faculty, processing in order of seniority and adorned with hoods appropriate to their advanced degrees, have always participated in the event. After the school was incorporated in 1927, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees joined the ceremonies and since that time has presented the graduates with their diplomas.
In 1996, Commencement returned to its original location, the school campus. The Seniors, in white and carrying red roses, process to William Walton’s Orb and Sceptre. They receive their diplomas on the stately portico facing Broad Street. Form VI Little Sisters honor their Big Sisters as they form a line for the recessional and hold a laurel garland on either side of the aisle. After a reception in the Spirit Courtyard, the Seniors are serenaded by their sister class.
Anastasia Staten '98 will be the 2023 Commencement Speaker
The commencement speaker for this year's Commencement is CSG Alumna Anatasia Staten '98.
As the Executive Director of the ESA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the video game industry, which provides educational experiences in game-making arts and technology for underserved college-aged students, Staten helps provide young people with access to opportunities and resources they might not otherwise have.
“Coming from a place of understanding, and having had the benefit of a CSG education and experience, I’ve wanted to make sure others have access to financial opportunities that allow them to focus on developing their technical, creative, and real-life skills,” Staten said.
Staten’s introduction to CSG was when she experienced firsthand the importance of uplifting others, an experience which completely changed the course of her life. She joined CSG in 7th grade, at the suggestion of her 4th grade teacher’s husband, who was aware of the School’s scholarship program and confident that it was an environment in which she would thrive.
“Once I arrived at CSG, I quickly became aware of all the opportunities it was providing me that I could not get in other educational settings,” Staten said.
Since the beginning of her career, opportunities and access have played a major role in the kinds of jobs Staten has taken on. In addition to leading the ESA Foundation, she also serves as a board member and chair of the Board of Trustees at the HALO Trust and HALO USA, respectively, a $100-million non-governmental organization which helps countries recover after conflict.
A central theme for Staten as she has moved through her career has been giving back to others and paying it forward.
“It’s just a really humbling experience,” she said