Grad Grounds: Post Commencement Celebrations

Grad Grounds: A Unique Saint Mary’s Tradition
Celebrate your milestone achievement of graduation with those closest to you right here on campus!
Grad Grounds, formerly known as "Plots," is a signature, one of a kind event only at Saint Mary's College of California where graduates, family, friends, SMC staff and faculty all come together and celebrate at different locations on campus. It’s essentially one giant party. Seize your opportunity to celebrate in this unique tradition!
On This Page
Information + Q&A Sessions
Important Dates
Guidelines & Application Process
Site Locations & Fees
Information plus Q&A Sessions
Mark your calendars for Grad Fair
The Office of Meetings, Events & Conference Services will be hosting Grad Grounds Information Sessions throughout Grad Fair, followed by live Q&A Sessions. Times will be posted in the Soda Activity Center Lobby and Lafayette Room.
Vendors will be exhibiting their services during Grad Fair, from event rentals to caterers and photographers, you can plan your post-Commencement reception right here at SMC before plot reservations open on Wednesday, March 12 at 10 am.
Still have questions after Grad Fair? Join us online for Grad Grounds Review + Q&A via Zoom. Registration begins March 5, 2025.
Important Dates
Mark your Calendar, so you remember to submit your application!
Monday, March 3 & Tuesday, March 4: Grad Fair in the Soda Center Grad Grounds Information and Q&A Sessions
Wednesday, March 5: Registration opens for Grad Grounds Review + Q&A via Zoom
Tuesday, March 11: Grad Grounds Review + Q&A via Zoom (Optional)
Wednesday, March 12: Online Application Opens at 10 am
Friday, March 28: Online Application Closes at 5 pm
Friday, April 11th: Tentative Plot Assignments Posted
Wednesday, April 16: Check your SMC email for Plot Assignments and Next Steps
Wednesday, April 23 at 5 pm: DocuSign Completion (Contract, Waivers & Catering Information) & Payment Deadline
Friday, April 25: Grad Grounds Plot Assignments Finalized & Posted by 5 pm
Friday, May 23 at 12 pm: Undergrads can start setting up Grad Grounds Plots
Saturday, May 24: Undergrad Commencement from 9 am - 11:30 am
Saturday, May 24 after Commencement: Grad Grounds 12 pm - 4 pm
Saturday, May 24: Grad Grounds Cleanup from 4 pm until 6 pm
How Do Undergrads Apply?
Start planning as soon as possible:
- Decide whether you will apply as an individual or as a group of graduates (undergraduates only are eligible to apply).
- If applying as a group, assign one person in your group as the main contact who will be responsible for the application, gathering the payment from the group, and collecting and submitting all necessary paperwork.
- The maximum number for one group is six graduates. See group size guidelines.
- Be sure to take a look at the site location photos online or in-person before selecting a location.
- This is a contract between undergraduates and Saint Mary’s College of California, therefore, only SMC students are eligible to apply and complete the paperwork. Friends or family members are not eligible to participate or complete any paperwork for the students.
- Attend Grad Fair on March 3 and 4, 2025 to meet caterers, vendors, photographers and attend Info + Q&A Sessions hosted by information from Meetings, Events, & Conference Services.
- This is an undergraduate celebration only on Saturday, May 24, 2025.
- There is a Reception after the Graduate & Professional Studies Commencement on Sunday, May 25, 2025 for graduates and their guests to attend.
All Required Documents will be sent through DocuSign beginning Wednesday, April 16, 2025 to the SMC email address in the Grad grounds Application.
All SMC Grad Grounds communications with Plot Assignments and Payment Links will be sent from gradgrounds@stmarys-ca.edu.
Application Process
Please read through all the guidelines and policies carefully; they are provided to assist you with planning a successful and memorable post Commencement reception.
All applicants must be undergraduate students eligible to graduate and participate in Commencement on Saturday, May 24, 2025 (aka graduands).
If you are coordinating a reception site for a number of your fellow graduates, please be considerate of their needs and ability to participate in this reception as it is their celebration as well.
You must plan your reception for the space you have been allotted by the Office of Meetings, Events, & Conference Services (MECS); you may not negotiate or enact a site change without the express written permission of MECS. If you have the consent of another group to consider a relocation of your reception site (a trading of), you must both make a formal written request through MECS.
Reception site assignments are not guaranteed until all of the following documents are electronically signed via the DocuSign envelope and payment is complete:
- Facility Use Agreement
- Certificate of Liability Insurance
- Alcohol Responsibility Form
- Site Policy Acknowledgement
- Catering Vendor Agreement
All Required Documents will be sent through DocuSign beginning Wednesday, April 16, 2025 to the SMC email address in the Grad Grounds Application.
All SMC Grad Grounds communications with Plot Assignments and Payment Links will be sent from gradgrounds@stmarys-ca.edu.
Each area of campus is limited to a designated number of reception sites.
Each designated reception site has an established maximum number of guests that can be accommodated. Group sites max out at six graduates. Each reception site is approximately 18-25' x 18-25' and is allowed a maximum of 15 guests per undergraduate.
- If a site location has 30 max guests, this means there is space for 2 undergraduates with 15 guests each.
- For Groups of six undergraduates, a total of 90 guests is the maximum allowed (15 guests per undergraduate).
You must plan your reception for the space you have been assigned. If you have the consent of another group to consider a relocation of your reception site (a trading of), you must both make a formal written request to the Office of Meetings, Events, and Conference Services. You may not negotiate or enact a site change without the written permission of the Office of Meetings, Events, and Conference Services.
Multiple reception sites are designated in each location, so keep in mind the areas are shared with other groups.
All Required Documents will be sent through DocuSign beginning Wednesday, April 16, 2025 to the SMC email address in the Grad Grounds Application.
All SMC Grad Grounds communications with Plot Assignments and Payment Links will be sent from gradgrounds@stmarys-ca.edu.
All undergraduates and their guests attending Grad Grounds on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at Saint Mary's College of California are responsible for following all conditions outlined in the signed Facility Use Agreement, Site Policy Acknowledgement Form, Alcohol Responsibility Form and Catering Vendor Agreement.
Additionally, the following guidelines and procedures must also be followed:
- Set up for Saturday receptions may begin as early as 12 pm on Friday, May 23, 2025, and no sooner. Plan accordingly; the College cannot guarantee the security of your reception site and/or any items (i.e., canopies, barbecues, tables, chairs, etc.) left at your plot.
- Catering vendors are allowed to set-up at a site location or a designated vendor location, the cost is included in the Site Fee per individual/group. All catering vendors who want to be on site the day of Commencement must register in advance with the Office of Meetings, Events, and Conference Services. Catering vendors that are not registered will not be allowed on campus.
- Receptions begin after the official conclusion of the Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 24, and all receptions must end by 4 pm the same day. Failure to do so will result in a $150 fine for each graduate.
- All reception furnishings (i.e., canopies, tables, buffet tables, etc.) must be chosen carefully to fit within the confines of the space allotted to your reception. All reception furnishings must be removed before 6 pm on Saturday, May 24. You will be provided with a clean reception site for your graduation reception, and you are required to return the site to its original state. Failure to do so will result in a $150 fine for each graduate of the group.
- The College does not provide reception furnishings (tables, chairs, & canopies), as they will already be in use for Commencement. If any College equipment and/or furnishings are moved from a campus area to or from a reception site, the group will be charged a minimum fine of $150.
- If you are assigned an area with existing tables, BBQ equipment, chairs and/or other amenities, you may use them. Please be considerate and share them amongst all groups assigned to that specific reception site.
- Only open canopies with a maximum of 10' in length by 10' in width are allowed; no enclosed tents and none larger may be utilized.
- Canopies MAY be spiked into the ground with 12” or shorter stakes. Please use weights/sandbags whenever possible. Groups failing to secure their canopies may cause safety hazards which may result in removal of canopies and a $150 fine for each graduate.
- Please be aware that the space you are assigned for your reception is largely decided by your reception site request and takes into consideration the number of graduates in your group.
- Occupancy for all reception sites must be maintained; do not add additional graduates and their guests to your reception group without prior written clearance from the Office of Meetings, Events, and Conference Services. The addition of another graduate also implies the addition of their guests and this could result in a fire code violation resulting in a shutdown of your reception.
- Undergraduates are solely responsible for the contracting of vendors and/or caterers, reception provisions, site set-up, reception management and clean up. The College does not endorse or recommend any particular catering service and/or rental company, but many will be present at Grad Fair.
Alcohol Consumption
- All Grad Grounds participants must follow California state law and College policy regarding alcohol consumption and use at post-Commencement receptions. Common-source alcohol is not allowed. Only wine, beer, and champagne may be served. Hard alcohol is prohibited.
- No common-source of alcohol is permitted, including but not limited to party balls, beer bongs, kegs, cocktail machines, beer pong tables and ice sluices. Common-source of alcohol is also defined as a quantity of alcohol more than can be responsibly consumed by an individual.
- Violation of the terms in the Alcohol Responsibility Form will result in immediate closure of the reception site and a $250 fine per graduate.
All Required Documents will be sent through DocuSign beginning Wednesday, April 16, 2025 to the SMC email address in the Grad Grounds Application.
All SMC Grad Grounds communications with Plot Assignments and Payment Links will be sent from gradgrounds@stmarys-ca.edu.
All required documents and payment must be submitted online by 5 pm on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
DO NOT pay through GaelXpress or any other website not associated with SMC; cash or checks will not be accepted. All fees must be submitted as one payment through the online payment form via credit card or e-check.
- Site Fees: The range for participating is between $175-$275 per undergraduate based on "plot" size and location and the number of undergraduates in the Group. Reception site fees are applied to the costs associated with Grad Grounds set up and clean up (i.e., portable restrooms, trash cans, chalking and/or painting designated sites, etc.). Since the Graduate & Professional Studies Commencement is the following day; the campus must be returned to pristine condition overnight.
- Catering Fees: Catering fees are included in the Site Fee. Each Caterer must be registered prior to being permitted on campus. Undergraduates will receive the Catering Registration Form link once payment is complete.
- Insurance Fees: Each group is required to provide the College with a Certificate of Insurance naming Saint Mary's College as additionally insured for $1,000,000. The rate for a one-day policy arranged by the College is $100 per reception group, and it is included in the Contract.
After processing the required documents and fees, the Office of Meetings, Events, and Conference Services will send an email to the undergraduate and/or group leader confirming the reception site location. Maps will be posted online no later than Friday, April 25, 2024.
- Site locations are confirmed only after all required forms are completed and payment is received. In the event that an undergraduate/group does not submit all required documents and fees by the due date, the Grad Grounds reception site will be forfeited.
All Required Documents will be sent through DocuSign beginning Wednesday, April 16, 2025 to the SMC email address in the Grad Grounds Application.
All SMC Grad Grounds communications with Plot Assignments and Payment Links will be sent from gradgrounds@stmarys-ca.edu.