How Digital Ticketing Transformed Graduation in Harnett County
Recently on The Liminal, Tassel’s podcast exploring the stories and systems that make commencement season memorable, we sat down with Jermaine White, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services for Harnett County Schools in North Carolina.
In conversation with Kate Williams, Tassel’s Head of Customer Success, Jermaine shared how his district has transformed the way it manages graduation logistics using Tassel’s guest ticketing tools. From overcoming the chaos of paper tickets to embracing the ease of digital management, Harnett County’s journey is a story of innovation, efficiency, and heart.
Graduation is more than a ceremony, it’s a milestone filled with emotion, pride, and transformation. As Jermaine White, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services for Harnett County Schools (NC), put it, “Not only are the children graduating from high school, but their parents are kind of graduating to the next level as well. And so I think there's a sense of pride with a lot of our families being able to be a part of that ceremony, which is why they take it seriously. ”
Each year, White helps orchestrate seven graduation ceremonies across Harnett County’s high schools and alternative programs. From the first student walking across the stage to the last proud tear in the audience, he’s seen firsthand how important every detail is, including something as simple as a ticket.
The Problem: Paper Tickets
Before Tassel, Harnett County relied on printed tickets and the process was anything but simple.
“We had boxes upon boxes upon boxes of tickets that we had to ship out to schools... so it just got to be super tedious,” White recalls.
Manual counting, storing extras, and dealing with miscounts led to unnecessary costs and stress. Beyond the financial and logistical headaches, not knowing exactly how many people enter the venue can pose serious challenges for crowd management and fire safety. Accurate entry tracking was essential for ensuring a safe, compliant, and well‑organized event. Worse yet, counterfeit tickets occasionally surfaced. “It was brought to my attention that they had a fraud ring going on with graduation tickets,” White laughed. “I was like a fraud ring with graduation? That is amazing, but I guess it was that serious for them to get in there.”
It was clear that White’s team needed a new solution. A conversation with Campbell University’s graduation team sparked an idea: if universities could use electronic ticketing, why couldn’t high schools?
After some research, White discovered Tassel and the impact was immediate. “It helps us crowd control because if the fire marshal comes in and says, ‘how many people are in here?’ We can immediately go to the app and show how many tickets have been scanned.”
Innovation Meets Education
What began as a solution for efficiency quickly became part of Harnett County’s educational philosophy. “If we’re preparing children for their next level, let’s start with something as small as electronic ticketing,” White explained. “They’ll say, ‘I’m used to that — my school district did that.’”
Today, electronic ticketing is an expected part of every graduation in Harnett County. It’s so integral that the district now budgets for Tassel annually. “It’s become part of the fabric of what we do. It would be difficult for us to go back,” White shared. “And it just feels a whole lot better than spending $3,000 or $4,000 on [paper tickets] that we're just gonna throw away at the end of the day.”
The feedback from students and families has been overwhelmingly positive. Beyond convenience, White was able to add personal touches that make the moment even more meaningful. “We had a student in the Japanese Honor Society, and we customized her tickets with the society’s logo,” White shared. “Her family loved that. It became a commemorative piece.”
A Model for Other Districts
When asked if he’d recommend Tassel to other schools, White didn’t hesitate:
“Yeah, absolutely. I recommend that you look at Tassel as an opportunity for you to be able to make your operations more efficient. That's the biggest thing for me, is that we don't have a lot of wasted time now,” White shared. “I'd rather work smarter than harder in spaces, and this provides us an opportunity to be able to do that for sure. And so I recommend it to anyone. If you have any questions, if you're a school district out there that is interested in implementing, but you're not quite sure how to be able to do it or what to do, then you can always reach out to me.”
His advice for other administrators considering the switch? Start small. “Get buy‑in from one or two schools first. Once they see how easy it is, everyone else will want in.”
Harnett County’s success story underscores what’s possible when technology and tradition come together. From simplifying logistics to ensuring event safety, Tassel’s digital ticketing helps make graduations easier and more meaningful.
“Graduation never gets old for me,” White said. “I always love the feeling of watching somebody walk across the stage and the feeling of watching parents cry in the audience as their child walks across the stage. That never gets old for me and I'm sure I'll carry that for the rest of my lifetime.