Fall 2025 Ceremony
Penn State Altoona's fall 2025 commencement ceremony will be held on Friday, December 19, at 6:00 p.m. in the Arena of the Adler Athletic Complex at Penn State Altoona. The ceremony will also be live-streamed on this site.
Graduates: Visit the Commencement Day Details page to learn more about the ceremony.
A reception sponsored by the Penn State Altoona Alumni Society will immediately follow the ceremony in the Auxiliary gym.
Campus Map
Find your way around campus using our Interactive Commencement Map.
Tickets
At this time, we don't anticipate that a ticketing system will be necessary for the commencement ceremony at the Adler Arena, but we will evaluate the need based on graduate numbers.
#PSUgrad—Share the experience!
Soon-to-be graduates and families of soon-to-be graduates: Tell the world about your tremendous accomplishments. Share your photos and thoughts, and include the #PSUgrad hashtag on your favorite social media platforms.
Professional Photography
To commemorate this milestone occasion, a professional photo will be taken of each graduate being congratulated by the chancellor. No pre-orders will be taken. Photos can be viewed and ordered after commencement by visiting the Film Center's website.
To avoid congestion and maintain decorum during the ceremony, we ask that family and friends refrain from approaching the platform when taking pictures or using a video camera.
Flowers
The Commencement Group will have bouquets of roses available for purchase at the ceremony. To browse the selection and pre-order ahead of time, please visit the Commencement Group's website.
Commencement Speaker
Christy Shields
Science Educator and Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers Partnership Lead, Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania
Christy Shields is from Butler, Pennsylvania. As a child, she was afraid of storms, but that fear eventually sparked her passion for meteorology. She graduated from Penn State in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology.
Shields has spent more than a decade in broadcast meteorology and earned the prestigious American Meteorological Society Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal in 2018. She served as the morning meteorologist at WTAJ in Altoona for eight years.
Today, Shields works at Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania, a nonprofit science center, as a science educator and Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers Partnership Lead. She continues forecasting as a fill-in meteorologist for WTAJ and ABC27 in Harrisburg and runs wxshield.com, where she provides daily forecasts for Central Pennsylvania.
Shields and her husband, Justin, enjoy cheering on the Nittany Lions and proudly serve on the Penn State Altoona Alumni Board.