Thirty-two graduates from India, USA, UK, Australia, Canada and the UAE joined in the Global Zoroastrian Virtual Graduation Ceremony anchored by the Zoroastrian Youth of North America (ZYNA), the youthful committee of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) on July 18, 2021, reported Mahzarin Katrak who was the main organizer of this event. "With in-person graduation ceremonies being cancelled around the world, we thought that we could bring some joy back to our youth who would be celebrating these milestones. By organizing a virtual graduation ceremony, graduates not only got to celebrate their achievements, but also to share these happy memories with our community. It gave them a chance to celebrate with family, friends and colleagues, no matter where in the world they are located,” Katrak provided the genesis of this program.
Graduates who had registered via the Google form on various social media platforms were asked to provide details on the degree they had earned, their country, whether they would like to be a speaker at the event, and if a priest, to join in the humbandagi.
Based on the feedback, the organizers decided to make a slide for each graduate. In addition to the four graduates who volunteered to speak (Zinta Avari, Mehrzaad Mogrelia, Dinaz Tavadia and Khushnuma Kolah), it was decided that Jimmy Mistry and Mickey Mehta from India and Dr Karishma Koka of the UK would be the motivational guest speakers at this event. Two graduating mobeds (Ervads Jimmy Madon and Jehan Dastoor) led the humbandagi prayer at the end of the event.
1st row: Mahzarin Katrak; 2nd row, from l: Mehrzaad Mogrelia, Dinaz Tavadia,
Khushnuma Kolah, Zinta Avari; 3rd row, from l: Mickey Mehta, Jimmy Mistry, Dr Karishma Koka
"The event went better than we anticipated! We had around 70 people join the Zoom call. The chat section was filled with compliments from well-wishers, proud parents/grandparents. The number of attendees remained fairly constant throughout the program which meant that no one found it to drag on too long. Moreover, I am aware that a few people who had no relation to the graduates had joined to hear the speakers,” reported Katrak. "Many graduates found that this event was a wonderful way for their family, who may be overseas, to join in the celebrations,” she added.
Katrak is a student at Monash University in Melbourne, studying for a dual degree in civil engineering and architecture. Delighted that her simple idea conveyed to Meher Amalsad of California bore fruit, she connected with key ZYNA members Farzin Avari, Sheherazad Kapadia, Behnaz Nanavati and Parshan Khosravi to run the event. She also valued the guidance and support of FEZANA president Arzan Wadia throughout the planning process.