To Shonda Adams, it’s the little moments she shares with families that make volunteering at the University of Michigan’s Spring Commencement so special.

Adams, a College of Engineering admissions coordinator, has volunteered at the spring ceremony at Michigan Stadium for the last four years.

One of the moments that remains etched in her mind took place her first year, when she was a wheelchair-assistance volunteer and helped an elderly man who had never been to Michigan Stadium get to his seat. It was his birthday, and he came to watch his grandson graduate. He told her he was so proud of his grandson, and that he had seen the Big House on television.

When the grandfather finally got a view inside the stadium, Adams said the sight blew him away. The grandfather and his son — the graduate’s father — exchanged smiles and admired the scene together.

“His grandson was graduating. It was his birthday. To share that moment with him was just quite an honor for me,” Adams said. “And that’s the stuff that I really look forward to. That’s why I keep doing this year after year. To be able to share those little moments with people and interact with families is really something.”

For the 2017 Spring Commencement, the university is aiming to enlist the help of 100 volunteers to help pass out programs, assist guests with limited mobility by pushing wheelchairs and driving golf carts, help guests at area hotels, and greet families and friends as they exit shuttle buses.

Staff, faculty, students and retirees are invited to sign up to volunteer. Volunteers must be available from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 29. Orientation sessions for volunteers will take place in the week prior to commencement.

Volunteers will receive a T-shirt, parking close to the stadium and a voucher for the concession stand. They also will be entered into a raffle to win a variety of prizes, including two prizes of four tickets to a 2017 home football game.

Events Manager Kristen Jensen said the main role of commencement volunteers is to make families feel welcome and to provide a friendly face for guests.

Like Adams, Development Communications Specialist Becky Majesky is returning to volunteer at this year’s Spring Commencement.

Majesky, a U-M alumna, volunteered for the first time at last year’s commencement with her 13-year-old son because he needed community service hours for the National Junior Honor Society. The two handed out programs to guests.

“It was a very simple thing but then people would strike up conversations and you could see they were excited,” Majesky said. “And my son, who is not very outgoing, was put in a position where he had to step outside of himself. And he really enjoyed that.”

This year, Majesky will be returning to volunteer with her son, who dreams of one day attending U-M. She said she would recommend to other staff and faculty to volunteer along with their kids.

“It was a good thing to do together,” Majesky said. “It reinforces the good that this place does for the broader community.”

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• Spring Commencement