essay about graduation

• Call us Topics in English
• Privacy Policy
• terms of use

Topics in English Topics in english to learn and fluent pronunciation and writing and facilitate conversation between you and others, whether in school, work or daily life

My graduation day essay 8 models

My graduation day essay ,the celebration of the graduation ceremony was through a beautiful party held by the school under the auspices of the principal of the school and attended by students and teachers and parents of the students and provided some entertainment shows.

My graduation day essay

Today, my school has held an annual graduation ceremony in which high school students are enrolled after passing the tests successfully and exceeding them and offering them certificates of appreciation and praise for their good conduct and discipline during the academic year.

The ceremony began by greeting the student who presented the ceremony to the principal of the school, the masters of the teachers, the masters of the parents and the dear students.

And a student with a beautiful voice read the Holy Quran, Then a third student introduced Hadith Sharif urging to seek knowledge, and then the acting group presented a short comedy play.

This play dealt with the difference between the diligent student who makes every effort to collect the science and the failed student who does not know the value of science and learning.

After that,  the principal of the school presented a speech in which he praised the students and praised the teachers for their great efforts to teach their students and encourage them to innovate and help them to solve the problems they experienced, whether academic or social problems. He wished the students more excellence and success

One of the teachers called the names of the first students and were honored by the principal of the school who gave them certificates of appreciation .

The students also gave each other a wish, hoping for success in the coming years. And everyone went away and each of the students carries a beautiful memory inside him about the years he spent in school and about his friends who spent the most beautiful time with them.

My graduation day

There is no doubt that every student dreams of his graduation day and is waiting for it impatiently. I can describe this last year before I moved to university as the most difficult. When you wait for time to pass, it becomes too long,

So I got up at 9 and get ready to go to prom, I am so excited this day is finally coming , I have been waiting for so long where I  can live more freely, move out of my parents’ house, live on my own and rely on myself, work and stay up late.  As well as entering the university that I always dreamed of and worked hard to reach.

Here I am getting up, getting dressed, and going to meet my friends before going to the party. I would very much like to go out today with my friends, and attend the dance, I would also like to give a simple speech to thank the principal, teachers and staff at the school, it has been a happy 11 years. I am very happy that they passed well, without any problems.

He is very excited to face tomorrow and learn more new experiences. On this day, when went down the stairs, I heard a surprise word, congratulations on graduation. Some cheers and small encouraging fireworks.

My family was very happy with my graduation and they wore their best clothes to attend the awards ceremony. They brought a camera to photograph me and take some other pictures for my friends for memory.

Of course everything was great at the party and I was very happy when I heard my name and got my graduation certificate.

Graduation essay

There is no doubt that graduation is the dream of every student who strived and struggled for this moment, until he moved to another stage of education, or in order to finish school education completely and move to learn from the real life and collide with life.

Of course, education does not end in a person’s life except with his death, as he can learn a lot through life and those around him.

Therefore, we see education as mere stages, we seek to finish it in schools and move to a larger stage, in which we find difficulties and challenges, which encourage us to learn again, and make us more challenging and determined to excel in it, so that we can benefit from it and rely on it in our next future, whether at work. or living.

Therefore, graduation day represents for us the satisfactory reward for the struggle and persistence we have achieved in education, from the first day of school until the last day.

Graduation day essay

Graduation day is one of the wonderful days that we are all impatiently waiting for, and we are trying to prepare for it, whether in preparing the appropriate clothes for this occasion, or knowing who we will accompany at the graduation ceremony, and preparing many things that we will do on this day, and how we will close a page and open a new page for a new stage of education, whether in an advanced stage of education or completion of studies, and learning from life and facing and merging with real life began.

Graduation day is always the biggest prize for hard work and continuous effort in education. It also represents a new  starting point, which helps us to remember that we were able to overcome the past, and we will certainly overcome what will come, and there will be no difficulties, and we have a new goal that we will strive to achieve.

This is my graduation day. A lot of joy at the end of a stage, and a new challenge with a lot of effort and fatigue, I will receive it without fear or hesitation, I will strive to achieve success in it, so that I can celebrate my success again.

Short essay about graduation

Graduation is a dream that many people are waiting for. Our goal from the beginning of our education is to reach the end of the educational stage, and to graduate so that we can begin our practical life and meet life and society with what we have learned. We prove to ourselves that we can excel and succeed.

Everyone has dreams and ambitions, which he postpones until he can succeed in the educational stages and graduate.

So today, we are witnessing our first goal and dream, which is graduation, at which we will stand a little without thinking about what will come next, and enjoy this moment, which represents our success and appreciation of our fatigue and continuous effort to reach this happy moment.

For me and for many friends, this is the beginning of success, through which we prove that we can go out for life and fight all difficulties.

Our graduation today proves that we are capable of patience, learning, diligence, and continuing to learn, no matter the circumstances, and not giving up on something we do no matter what difficulties we face.

Today we are honored and a graduation ceremony is held for us as proof of our excellence and success. It may not be the greatest success in the universe, but it is certainly the first step on the ladder of success, after which we will strive to achieve more successes and superiorities.

Therefore, I am grateful and appreciate the role of those in charge of the study, and the role of my father and mother who stood by me so that I could continue my studies and education, and my friends. I hope to be as good as they think and achieve the best for myself and them.

Short essay about graduation day

There is no doubt that the graduation day represents a great victory for all students, an overwhelming feeling of happiness and self-realization, and that we can succeed and overcome difficulties and obstacles, and most importantly, overcome our fears that always tell us that we cannot succeed.

Therefore, the graduation day represents a great celebration for all students, for their achievement and excellence throughout the year, and appreciation for their efforts, fatigue and perseverance they made in order to obtain the highest grades.

Therefore, the gathering of all students at the end of the year ceremony, during which they are honored for the end of the semester and their success, is a great victory, and a new starting point for another stage, they see themselves going to it and achieving excellence in what is to come.

Essay about graduation day in elementary

It is wonderful to feel accomplished since childhood and to have a graduation day celebration in the primary stage. This makes us feel energetic and ready to face the next stage, and we are ready to progress year after year until we reach the university and graduate from it.

Of course, the primary stage is important because it is where the student is founded on everything, from the beginning of teaching letters to reading, arithmetic, and learning other languages.

Therefore, the day of graduation in the primary stage represents a great victory, because in it the basics were dug that will remain permanent for the rest of life, and whatever we learned in childhood lasts for old age.

My graduation day short essay

The graduation day for me and a lot of friends and other people is a day of honor for the effort spent throughout the year. In addition to the motivation that helps us advance to the next stage with eagerness and love. We have hope and optimism that we will be able to pass this stage as well and graduate from it, until we completely finish our university studies.

Then we will begin in practical life, learning all the requirements of life and career, so that we integrate into society and benefit from what we have learned, and re-present it in new projects, ideas and innovations.

Also, the graduation day is another happiness, because of the gathering of friends and family, the celebration of this day, the costumes, the music, and the speech we give.

All of this makes us feel happy and optimistic, and makes us feel self-fulfilling, and we are happier if the parents are present and thank us for completing this stage and graduating from it. This gives a great feeling and appreciation from them for what we have achieved in the study.

In this way, we have given you a topic about My graduation day essay ,and you can read more through the following link:

• Myself essay for college students

About admin

Related articles.

Value of Time Essay 3 Models

Car accident essay 6 models

Essay on car 10 models

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Yale Daily News

PERSONAL ESSAY: On Graduating in a Pandemic

Contributing Reporter

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1005512596?secret_token=s-wFHMjlG8La5″ params=”color=#ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]

Four years ago, I entered Yale as part of the class of 2021, and now the year I both dreaded and anticipated is here. It’s 2021; my senior spring. What I imagined would be a victory lap after three and a half of the best years of my life looks a lot more like a slog to an ever-moving finish line. Almost every part of my imagined college experience has changed, and these changes due to COVID — multiplied over the thousands of seniors graduating this year and last — produce an impact that we will feel for years to come.

My former suitemates, whom I’ve spent many nights with imagining the future, are now in different cities across the U.S. When I first came to Yale, my idealized college experience was centered around our suite unit; I imagined that we would weather four years of Yale, then enter the rest of the world together. Instead, only three out of my six suitemates from sophomore year are still graduating in 2021, and all of us are headed to very different futures than we had imagined. What remains of our graduating class resembles my ex-suite: altered plans and changed people, staggering in unexpected new directions. 

I called those of my former suitemates who are still graduating — pseudonymized here as Paris, Maia and Luisa — and we discussed where we might be in the next couple years. The following are imagined futures loosely based upon these conversations.

In 2024, PARIS lives in a sun-soaked 15th-story apartment, the fourth or fifth she’s lived in since graduating, with a windowsill full of plants: philodendrons, African violets, basil, a Venus flytrap. Her dark hair is now short, shorter than it’s been since college, and her apartment-mates are what she would describe as “boss ladies.” Her phone beeps with a text from one of the teenage girls that she works with at her job as a community organizer; the sound wakes up her pitbull, who lazily flaps an ear and curls back up against the back of her desk chair.

It will be three years since Paris left New Haven and fled to new cities to escape a suffocating senior year spent in quarantine. Feeling that COVID catapulted her prematurely into adulthood, Paris ran in the opposite direction of a stable “adult” job. After graduating, she spent time backpacking in South America, teaching in Spain and organizing in Philadelphia. She went wherever there was movement and action and young people. The wanderer lifestyle she chose was in direct reaction to the sensation of being stuck.

Paris has switched therapists several times over the course of the three years because she always felt like progress wasn’t being made in sessions. Somehow, the pandemic never quite leaves the conversation. Her wanderlust and rejection of normal, “age-appropriate” behavior feels like the continuation of senior year: no demarcation between one chapter ending and another beginning; continual limbo. Her near-excessive accumulation of plants, pets, books, artwork, things , according to her newest therapist, Alicia, represents the anchors that Paris uses to prevent herself from floating away entirely. And her retreat from many of the friends she had made in college, Alicia tells her, may be the response to having grown disconnected from the emotional states of others — she feels alone, and has come to believe that she is alone in feeling alone. Everyone else is a monolith of unrelatable, happy people and she quickly falls away from them, feeling like there is little mutual ground for conversation left.

In 2023, MAIA has joined the consulting company that she has worked for since sophomore summer. She still keeps in touch with a handful of people from college, but she spends most of her time texting her cohort at work about the ever-changing demands of their entertainment industry clientele. Maia recently started seeing someone, but she realizes she doesn’t have a lot of patience for things like nights out. She occasionally does productions with a local theater group, but even that feels like work sometimes.

Graduation had been dampened by so many other competing demands. What once was celebratory and important, had become decidedly… not. Maia rationalized to herself that graduation mattered so little in the context of people losing their loved ones to a raging virus; she had herself so thoroughly convinced that by the time the virtual event came and went, it had long been classified as a forgettable memory. Pomp and circumstance, the commemoration of accomplishment — all foreign concepts. Change was dulled; the anticlimactic feeling of leaving college and starting work was further reinforced by having already spent six months at home, unable to see friends, with the only noticeable change in her day-to-day being a Zoom link with a corporate header instead of a Yale one. 

Now a full-fledged member of the workforce, Maia finds that there was no celebration there either. At a company that had once mailed their prospective employees cupcakes to woo them into signing, Maia has not yet tasted a single company-sponsored dessert nor attended a cheese-tasting event. There is no more wining and dining, much less company-sponsored recreation, and even a reduction in company merch. She tells herself, logically, they know you won’t reject a job during COVID, and they are right. And who am I to complain when others are unemployed? The work we do is the most important thing, anyway, she tells herself. The days of after-show parties and spontaneous happy hours are long gone.

Instead of fun with friends, the pleasures of life look a lot more like solitude at home. Since senior year, Maia has begun to enjoy the growth she notices in herself. She has learned more about how to be an adult — cooking recipes, paying rent, being able to decide when to start working and when to stop (the stopping is still hard sometimes). She feels gratitude for the friends that she still talks to from   time to time, and for the ordinary things like warm showers and cold drinks. She is getting better at being alone.

In 2022, LUISA, with her plaid backpack and teal Yeti rambler (the same one from sophomore year of Yale), is back to the books, spending most of her time exactly where she had planned for senior year: in libraries and coffee shops. The backdrop has changed, but the rhythms of academia remain a wonderful constant. She misses stability so much that her craving for certainty makes her return to school. The master’s degree wasn’t part of the plan, but neither was this virus, and school feels like the closest thing to normal, even if everything has to be from a laptop.

Luisa is impressed with herself for how well she deals with unmet expectations. Friendships were permanently fractured because of the distance created by the pandemic, and past Luisa would have been torn up every night. Instead, she feels a sense of emptiness where there once lived feelings like attachment. “ Maybe if we had been sophomores, the gaps would have slowly been closed again over time , but because of the lasting impression of people in masks keeping distance, dwindingly friendships a year out seem only natural,” she writes in her brand-new Moleskine — teal, like the rambler. The premature separation from her classmates by geographical location, by gap-year “1.5” graduating class divisions, by on- and off-campus, sucks. Luisa feels like they had been rushed into the next phase of their lives before even making it to the climax of the current one. All the more reason, she thinks, to tether herself to some semblance of normalcy: Her weekly course calendar is something she can rely on.

It’s 2021 and I sit in my off-campus apartment, daydreaming about the future and wondering where this spring season will take us. I stare outside the window, wondering when I’ll finally be free from this longing feeling for a chance to gather with my ex-suitemates, to be free of hypervigilance about safety and cleanliness, to just have a sleepover or meet a new friend without worry. I think about my plans to stay in the city next year, and about all the missed potential from an ideal senior year.

The only thing I appreciate is this: Right before we got sent home, I was hurtling toward disaster, going 100 miles per minute into the future, and COVID forced me to slow down. I was forced to recognize the beauty in the slow. Graduation has historically been all about projecting into the future — anticipating what’s to come, cherishing the bright spots within these precious college years, formation and self-discovery in an ever-accelerating landscape. Pandemic graduation seems to be about having the brakes thrown into our plans, and being forced to sit still and alone for a very long time. 

Every year, college grads bid goodbye to their family away from home. The difference, this year and the last, is that we did not see our goodbyes coming. Who knew that the last time we’d see Jimmy from Davenport was that final Friday in “Game Theory,” or that we should have hugged Collin from FOOT goodbye when we passed him on the street? Our plans changed; the people in our lives changed. Some of us who thought we would stay in New Haven exited this pandemic deciding it was time to go; and others who entered thinking it was a get-the-degree and get-out situation, found themselves wanting to stay just one more year in New Haven. One more normal year. Disparities and distance grew between the employed and the still-searching; our support systems, the ones that should have been solidified during these past four years, are flimsy at best as we get shuttled into the rest of our adult lives. And yet we persist. We try to bring back the dinners, the movie nights. We make plans once again. We gather as a suite on Zoom and dream out loud about the people we’ll meet, the things we’ll do and the places we’ll go once we graduate into this pandemic and out into the rest of the world. Each of us four departing seniors head in different directions, none of us knowing exactly where we will land. All we have to fuel us onward are some precious memories of the good old days, and faith that we are resilient enough to get through graduating, even in a pandemic.

Kalina Mladenova

• Entertainment
• Environment
• Information Science and Technology
• Social Issues

Home Essay Samples Education

Essay Samples on High School Graduation

Plans after graduation: exploring career opportunities beyond college.

Rethinking Higher Education Every year in the United States, another wave of young men and women graduate from high school to begin their adult lives. Each one tries to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life. The culture, and most...

• College Education
• High School Graduation
• Plans After High School

Continual Growth in Life After High School

Celebrating My High School Journey First off, I have to thank everyone that has helped me achieve the goals that have made me become the person I am today. Especially, my friends, faculty members, teachers, and my parents. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t...

Fundamental Chapter of My Life: My High School Experience

It’s true when people say that high school can either be the best or worst four years of your life; For me, it was definitely a combination of both. My high school experience certainly had its highs and lows and many confusing moments in between....

• High School

Prom Night and Prom Limo Rentals as Integral Parts of Graduation

Do you want you make your child’s prom night or graduation one they'll always remember? With reasonable and dependable prom limo service in San Francisco, you can achieve this goal. A graduation or prom night is an important occasion for any youngster and as a...

The Negative Preconceptions Surrounding the Prom Night

Prom is like the Met Gala of highschool, it is your exit from highschool and it is customary to look damn good on your way out. I remember when I was a sophomore, a girl in my grade was going to prom with her cousin...

Stressed out with your paper?

Consider using writing assistance:

• 100% unique papers
• 3 hrs deadline option

The Search for a Suitable Limo for a Prom Night

For youngsters, prom is an extremely uncommon night, and thus, everything should keep running as easily as would be prudent. So for the individuals who choose to contract a prom limousine benefit, there are a few things that ought to be done before calling and...

How Well Do High Schools Prepare Teens for Life after Graduation

I knew that high schools did not teach teens how to do any checks, bills, etc. To begin with, did school teach you how to do any of those before you graduated? Schools do not get teens ready for the life of adulthood. I choose...

Looking Back at the Many Years of a School Life

High School takes up 720 days of our lives. 720 days of sitting at desks with people you probably won’t talk to outside of class. 720 days of waking up early with the intention of actually getting ready but then hitting the snooze button so...

My Highschool Reflections Before Graduation

Many people would tell us that our high school years “are the best years of our lives”. How when we walk across the stage in June, nothing would ever be the same, for the better or for the worst. As a graduating senior, I thought...

Best topics on High School Graduation

1. Plans After Graduation: Exploring Career Opportunities Beyond College

2. Continual Growth in Life After High School

3. Fundamental Chapter of My Life: My High School Experience

4. Prom Night and Prom Limo Rentals as Integral Parts of Graduation

5. The Negative Preconceptions Surrounding the Prom Night

6. The Search for a Suitable Limo for a Prom Night

7. How Well Do High Schools Prepare Teens for Life after Graduation

8. Looking Back at the Many Years of a School Life

9. My Highschool Reflections Before Graduation

• Importance of Education
• Elementary School
• American Education System
• Brigham Young University

Need writing help?

You can always rely on us no matter what type of paper you need

*No hidden charges

100% Unique Essays

Absolutely Confidential

Money Back Guarantee

By clicking “Send Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails

You can also get a UNIQUE essay on this or any other topic

Thank you! We’ll contact you as soon as possible.

+1 888 701 5192

My College Graduation Experience: Essay Example

• My College Graduation Experience
• Narrative essay writing service for students

We have previously discussed everything you need to know on how to write a personal narrative essay . For it to be successful, your narrative essay should leave an emotional impact on the audience. Its goal is to make the reader experience the narrative through imagination and the use of emotional language. It should also be able to reference elements and things that the senses can experience, which is why using vivid descriptions and details is crucial. Below is an example of a narrative essay , which is about college graduation. As we all know, graduations are emotional because it celebrates one of the most important milestones in an individual's life. Receiving your diploma after decades of hard work is an event one cannot simply brush off. The essay was donated by an anonymous writer, who believes that recounting her college graduation experience can not only help you understand how to write a personal narrative essay better but also inspire you to reach your own graduation day.

Many people around the world consider their college graduation day as a milestone, and rightfully so. It is, after all, a consolidation of decades of hard work and sacrifice. To an extent, I thought of it as the beginning of the realization of my goals. We started out with learning our ABCs and additions and subtractions, which later morphed into the complex forms of writing essays of various kinds and tear-jerking quadratic formulas. My journey to college was not easy situation either - to get to college, you need to  prepare for the SAT exams . Grades needed to be presentable, and learning how to  write an effective personal statement  was crucial. 

The aroma of coffee wafting through a sleepless night came back to me as I picked out my graduation dress. My mom accompanied me to a nearby store right outside town, and by the end of the shopping trip, we have settled into a nice cafe. It is amazing how for the first time in years, I get to enjoy a cup of coffee without the weight of the finals week on my back.

Today, I am wearing that same dress that brought me so many realizations. I also wear my toga and graduation cap, which I decorated on top with a collage of photos my family and myself - we are one of the lucky few who were allowed to exercise our creative spirits. I entered the venue, and thousands of thundering claps welcomed us. Speeches were made by various figures: the guest of honor, the administration, and so on. Another round of applause echoes as each class were asked to line up along the corridor. We were to wait for our turn to go the stage, where we will receive our school souvenirs. Everyone was excited, and when it was our turn to receive the items, we were happy. 

A little tribute was made for our teachers after that. As the class monitor, I was tasked to collect the bouquet of flowers provided for by the student council. We all stood up and sang a special song for our dear professors, which we have been practicing in secret. I looked at my favorite history professor, Ms. Tanika, and she smiled at me. Becoming friends with your professor is no easy task, but I am glad I found a true friend and mentor in her. I smiled back, and after that, I felt the wave of unexplainable sadness take over me. Sad that I will leave my educational years forever, along with Ms. Tanika as my mentor. Happy, however, over the fact that it is now my turn to make a difference in the world. 

Soon, we were in line once more to receive our diplomas. Although the venue was packed, I found my family by the stage as my name was called. I happily received my college diploma, the proof of all the years of my hard work. I was all smiles for the photographs and videos being taken, and I can only hope that they all look good! I need to remember this graduation day well for the rest of my life. 

When all of the diplomas and special awards were given, the school’s chairman, Mr. Gary Turner, asked us to all stand. He gave everyone in the hall a special blessing for our upcoming licensure examinations, which will be happening in two month’s time. This is unlike preparing for the SAT exams; the licensure will determine if we have the capacity to practice our field or not, and the state of nervousness came back as people around me remembered. I became just as nervous, but it quickly left once the speech was over. 

After the blessing and speech, the lights were dimmed and the white projector screen rolled down from the ceiling of the stage. The projector was opened, and there, a video was played. To many enthusiastic reactions, it was a video containing many videos and photographs of our batch. We laughed at silly photos, nervous smiles, and sleepless morning looks. By the end of it, many of us were wiping tears away. I looked and caught the eye of my friends, who smiled at me sadly. A lot of things will change - life after college will definitely be different, especially when it comes to friendship. I hope we stay the same, though. 

As the lights went back up again, we stood up to sing the school song. It was the finale of the entire ceremony, and our very last time of singing the school song. For the first time since I got here, I heard my fellow students sing the school song with so much happiness and pride. I sang along with them, and I felt such fondness for my school and all the memories I have built here. After that, it was over. The host congratulated and thanked us. We were directed to the canteen after that for some refreshments, where I reunited my family. 

None of us touched those juice cocktails, however, as we began taking so many photos. I posed with each member of my family, and then posed for several more by myself holding my diploma. After that, my friends and I went on our way to find each other. After eating a few of those finger foods served in platters, like spring rolls and select chips, we began taking photos once more. We decided to leave the canteen and walk around the campus, clad in our heels and toga still. Our diplomas were safely tucked away in the bags of our mothers. 

Walking around the campus and chatting away brought back a sense of nostalgia, despite feeling elated that I have finally conquered the hell that is college. We decided to settle on our favorite spot, a little hidden garden behind the College of Law building. We talked about our upcoming exams, our plans, and of course, the reality of life catching up to our friendship.

Soon, we had to part ways - respective celebrations with our families needed to happen. On the way back, however, I felt something I have never felt before. It seemed like a fusion of feelings, different emotions attacking all at once. The feeling grew when I got ready for bed that night. I will miss my friends, my mentors, and my school. Things will never be the same again, and that part of my life is done and over. I looked back and realized so much. I hated those schooling days as it happened. I hated waking up early, I hated sorting through my homework trying to finish them in one night. I hated all the times I went through finals week and what really happens during it, and all the instant ramen I had to eat - I wished I had learned more college dorm meal recipes. But, even though I have been through one of the most challenging times of my life, I realized that I will miss all of that. 

I will never get those days back again, and although the thought is sad, I have my entire life facing me now. It is now time to make my mark in the world.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the capacity to complete their requirements, much less write that narrative essay. Learning about writing a personal narrative essay is one thing, but quite another when you need to write one. Do not worry, though, as we understand if you currently have no means to complete your essay. This is the main reason why CustomEssayMeister exists, as we have made it our mission to help students like you. Our professional writers are more than qualified to write not only your narrative essay, but also your research papers, dissertations, and even thesis papers! Each paper will be tailored according to your specifications. If you are interested, do not hesitate to contact our Support Team - they are available 24/7 for your needs.

more in Assignment Examples / Essay Examples

• Example of a Philosophy Paper: "Is present-day ethical egoism good?" Aug 9, 2018
• Example of Social Studies Essay Dec 7, 2019
• Personal Narrative Essay Example Aug 1, 2019
• Admission Essay Example Dec 4, 2019

Let’s get your assignment done!

• Environment
• Information Science
• Social Issues
• Argumentative
• Cause and Effect
• Classification
• Compare and Contrast
• Descriptive
• Exemplification
• Informative
• Controversial
• Exploratory
• What Is an Essay
• Length of an Essay
• Generate Ideas
• Types of Essays
• Structuring an Essay
• Outline For Essay
• Essay Introduction
• Thesis Statement
• Body of an Essay
• Writing a Conclusion
• Essay Writing Tips
• Drafting an Essay
• Revision Process
• Fix a Broken Essay
• Format of an Essay
• Essay Examples
• Essay Checklist
• Essay Writing Service
• Pay for Research Paper
• Write My Research Paper
• Write My Essay
• Custom Essay Writing Service
• Admission Essay Writing Service
• Pay for Essay
• Academic Ghostwriting
• Write My Book Report
• Case Study Writing Service
• Dissertation Writing Service
• Coursework Writing Service
• Lab Report Writing Service
• Do My Assignment
• Buy College Papers
• Capstone Project Writing Service
• Buy Research Paper
• Custom Essays for Sale

Can’t find a perfect paper?

• Free Essay Samples

Essays on Graduation

When graduation is finally upon you it may seem that all troubles are over, and yet you still have a graduation essay to write, which can be pretty stressful in itself. Graduation essays are something you fail to prepare in advance, so they become a source of discomfort for most. Our graduation essay samples will give you some guidance throughout the process of your graduation essay creation. Provided samples will cover different topics that essays on graduation usually touch upon. Lost on words anyway? We can take the graduation essay of your hands completely, so you won’t need to stress about it anymore. Our essays are composed by skilled specialists, so high-quality is guaranteed.

In my reflection, I chose Maya Angelou's Graduation, Nancy Mairs' On Being a cripple, and Chang-Rae Lee's Going Home Again. Maya's experience as she graduated from the only black grammar school is described in Graduation. The essay from Maya Angelou's autobiography goes into length about the discrepancies in schools for...

The Study's Objective The study's objective is to compare the transfer rates and graduation rates of various universities. The data and information collected serve as a gauge of how satisfied students are with their educational institutions.Comparing Student Satisfaction To gauge the degree of student satisfaction at these institutions, data on admission, total...

Words: 1451

Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk This is an intriguing series that examines what is going on in higher education. It wants to know what happens before enrollment and graduation. It demonstrates so something has gone wrong. The documentary advocates for reform, demonstrating that the nation is in grave danger...

Words: 1774

Without remembering William Jefferson Clinton, also named William Jefferson Bly III, we can't talk about US presidents. In 1992, he became the 42nd US head of state and served until 2001. Born and raised in Arkansas, he attended prestigious colleges, including Oxford University, Georgetown University, and Yale Law School, among...

Words: 1839

Found a perfect essay sample but want a unique one?

Request writing help from expert writer in you feed!

In his book Into the Woods, Jon Krakauer portrays a man who leaves his family home and heads into the forest. Chris McCandless, the story's lead, prefers solitude after graduating. Clearly, a core premise of this book is that complete self-sufficiency is unlikely in one's life. The assistance and care...

Words: 1108

The Fish Analogy: Seeing the Unseen The article underneath analysis was a speech presented in the course of Kenyon College's commencement ceremony. The presenter feels that customarily, it is standard practice for graduation speeches to start with didactic allegorical stories. Wallace begins with an educational analogy of two younger fish which...

The Cease of High School and the Start of a New Chapter The cease of high school marked an end to my childhood life. My mother and father always encouraged me to work hard and acquire the necessary grades to join college. After completing my ultimate exams, many of my nights...

Related topic to Graduation

Graduation Speech Essay

“ Honored guests , dear graduates, welcome. Congratulations to all graduates.” Have you ever in your life been told to make a graduation speech? If you have, how was it? If you haven’t but want to know how, this article is your go to help for that. A graduation speech essay is like any other type of essay that is only made for a specific type of event . Listed below are the following, tips, examples and definitions to help you make a good graduation speech essay for your next graduation ceremony .

4+ Graduation Speech Essay Examples

1. graduation speech essay template.

Size: 71 KB

2. Sample Graduation Speech Essay

Size: 38 KB

3. Student Graduation Speech Essay

Size: 76 KB

4. English Department Graduation Speech Essay

5. School Graduation Speech Essay

Size: 80 KB

Defining Graduation

Defining the term graduation, we get the act of finishing a course you have undergone to study for years at an institution. The event of which you are officially done and complete.

Defining Speech

Speech is the act of expressing one’s own thoughts, ideas, suggestions and opinions. The ability to express something that we want to share in private and public like discourse.

Defining Essay

An essay is a piece of writing that is both formal and informal. This shows the author’s own ideas for discourse. However the author’s own ideas are often too vague as they overlap with those like articles, letters and stories.

Defining Graduation Speech

This type of speech is mostly given by a student, seldom a teacher, the principal of a high school, or the dean of a university, or a college graduating batch and to the guests. This type of speech is written to commemorate each student’s achievements, aspirations, dreams, goals, their past experiences and their future. This is also the type of speech given to honor outstanding students in the graduating class.

Importance of Graduation Speech

The main use of this type of speech is to give information to the audience about the graduates themselves. This speech is not trying to persuade the audience to agree or to disagree nor is it trying to start an argument. This speech is mainly to give ideas and information.

Tips to Make a Graduation Speech

You are about to make the biggest step of your life, to face new challenges. But before you are able to do so, the biggest challenge you are facing right now is making a graduation speech for your fellow graduates. Now you are wondering what are you going to write about as well as what tone of writing do you want to convey to your fellow graduates. Here are some tips on making that graduation speech that would move every student attending .

• Think about it : What do you want to say in your speech? Do you want to thank the people behind your success? You may do so in the speech.
• Make it Personal : When you write the graduation essay speech, the best thing is to make it as personal as it can. Also without making it all about you either. When writing that speech put yourself in your fellow graduates’ shoes. How does it feel for them to be a part of this event? Start from there.
• Motivation:  Put some motivational statements or phrases in your speech. This will also help make your fellow graduates feel good in pursuing their dreams.
• Familiarize your speech: As much as possible, do not memorize your speech . Be familiarize with it since you are not allowed to bring your speech in front to read it.
• Eye contact:  Make eye contact with your audience. Make them feel how you are feeling when you stand up on stage to make your speech.

Why am I not allowed to bring a copy of my speech?

Chances are you are more likely to read and not make eye contact with the audience. This must be avoided at all costs. Be familiar with your speech, you need not have to remember word by word.

Is it okay to put some of our triumphs and failures in the speech?

As long as it’s in a form of motivating and not in a way to bring someone down.

Why is a graduation speech so important?

This is the type of speech that caters to the graduates themselves. It is compared to a pep talk and an appreciation speech at the same time. It is to let the students know their efforts were not in vain. It is to show them that they did a good job and to keep excelling in their future endeavors.

A graduation speech can come in different lengths, depending on the one making the speech. But for you to remember, this type of speech is to show appreciation for the efforts done by students and their mentors. It is to give them a tap in the back for a job well done. When making the graduation speech, make it from the heart.

A good graduation speech gives out a lot of emotional messages as well as heartfelt thanks, as well as a motivational speech for those who need it. The next time you are told to make one, simply follow the tips, download the example templates found in this article. To all graduates, congratulations and good luck on your future endeavors!

Graduation Speech Essay Generator

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Craft a graduation speech reflecting on your proudest achievement during your time in school and its impact on your journey.

Compose a graduation speech inspired by a meaningful lesson learned from a teacher or mentor, highlighting its significance as you move forward.

Home › Inspirational Graduation Speeches

Inspirational Graduation Speeches

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. See our disclosure for more info.

Do you have a graduating son or daughter? A high school or college graduation is a major milestone in life that should not be ignored. The graduation ceremony celebrates hard work and encourages students to move into the world to achieve great things. This hopeful message is further cemented through an inspirational graduation speech.

As you celebrate graduation day and wish your student good luck, consider the following commencement advice you can share as well as inspirational quotes for a happy graduation.

Here are the best graduation speeches and inspirational message graduation quotes to inspire you and change your life.

Page Contents

1. Barack Obama – Howard University, 2016

You have to go through life with more than just passion for change; you need a strategy. I’ll repeat that. I want you to have passion, but you have to have a strategy. Not just awareness but action. Not just hashtags, but votes. Barack Obama

During his graduation message, Barack Obama spoke with hope. He urged the graduating students to be hardworking yet pragmatic as they sought justice, equality, and freedom. Howard University is one of the nation’s most distinguished and historically Black universities.

In 2020, Barack Obama also shared a graduation message to the Class of 2020 as part of Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 . These students had to learn to overcome obstacles and challenges that classes before them had not had to deal with due to the pandemic.

The disappointments of missing a live graduation, those will pass pretty quick…What remains true is that your graduation marks your passage into adulthood—the time when you begin to take charge of your own life. It’s when you get to decide what’s important to you: the kind of career you want to pursue. Who you want to build a family with. The values you want to live by. And given the current state of the world, that may be kind of scary. Barack Obama

Obama goes on to offer hope and support as graduating students set out to navigate a very new landscape and shape a new world.

2. David Foster Wallace – Kenyon Graduation Speech, 2005

There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually, one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water? David Foster Wallace

In this commencement address, Wallace reminds us that we often forget, or take for granted, the most obvious things around us. He acknowledges it’s difficult to stay aware of what’s happening in the world, especially when you’re too busy dealing with the monologue inside your head.

That’s what a college education is about, according to him. It’s learning how to think and exercising some degree of control over your thoughts so you can choose what to pay attention to.

Our thoughts affect our realities, and the ability to choose how you “construct meaning from experience” will determine the lenses from which you see the world and how you react in return.

3. Natalie Portman – Harvard Graduation Speech 2015

Sometimes your insecurities and your inexperience may lead you, too, to embrace other people’s expectations, standards, or values. But you can harness that inexperience to carve out your own path, one that is free of the burden of knowing how things are supposed to be, a path that is defined by its own particular set of reasons . Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman majored in psychology at Harvard University because she believed it would help her acting. She graduated in 2003. In her commencement speech at the 2015 graduation ceremony, she spoke of her own self-doubt and gave an inspiring, funny , and wisdom-filled speech for the graduating class.

Portman said even though she was a successful student and went on to find success as an actress, she still struggled with her own worth but eventually learned to set her own goals.

4. Ellen DeGeneres – Tulane University, 2009

Never follow anyone else’s path, unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path and by all means you should follow that. Don’t give advice, it will come back and bite you in the ass. Don’t take anyone’s advice. So my advice to you is to be true to yourself and everything will be fine. Ellen Degeneres

This is one of the funniest graduation speeches ever! All humor aside, this speech shows why  it’s better to be true to yourself instead of trying desperately to be a second-rate version of someone else.

For years, Ellen thought being bisexual might prevent her from being a successful stand-up comedian, but it’s just not the case. Ellen proved that you could be successful, whoever you are, if you worked hard and learned from your past experiences— even one as sad as the death of a loved one.

5. Charlie Munger – University of California Law School, 2007

*Skip to 4:08 for the actual speech

You’re not going to get very far in life based on what you already know. You’re going to advance in life by what you’re going to learn after you leave here. Charlie Munger

Education doesn’t stop after you graduate from college. It doesn’t stop after you finish your MBA or PhD either. Munger says, “Wisdom acquisition is a moral duty. It’s not just something you do to advance in life.”

It’s a moral duty because it’s only through continuous learning that we can add to the vast knowledge of man kind. If we stopped learning, progress in all industries—computers, finance, engineering, biology, stops as well.

6. Michelle Obama – Eastern Kentucky University, 2013

If you’re a Democrat, spend some time talking to a Republican. And if you’re a Republican, have a chat with a Democrat. Maybe you’ll find some common ground, maybe you won’t. But if you honestly engage with an open mind and an open heart, I guarantee you’ll learn something. And goodness knows we need more of that, because we know what happens when we only talk to people who think like we do — we just get more stuck in our ways, more divided, and it gets harder to come together for a common purpose. Michelle Obama

As far as inspirational speeches go, Michelle Obama’s speech is very actionable. Her advice is simple (not easy), talk to each other with an open mind.

Different religion, race, political stand, it doesn’t matter. We can all learn from one another.

7. Jim Carrey – Maharashi University of Management, 2014

This is one of my favorite motivational speeches because Jim Carrey is such a good example of his message.

So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an account. Jim Carrey

Carrey’s father lost his accounting job when he was 12, and it was then he realized that failure is inevitable , whether you’re doing what you want or not. If that’s the case, you might as well take a stab at doing something you love.

8. J.K Rowling – Harvard Commencement Address, 2008

I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. J.K. Rowling

This is probably one of the most inspirational videos for writers and creatives everywhere.

Rowling was suffering from depression when he wrote the Harry Potter books. But through grit and patience with herself, she was able to complete the first Harry Potter Manuscript and, stay motivated to continue even when feeling down. Thanks to her drive and imagination, the world has Harry Potter !

9. Bono – University of Pennsylvania, 2004

In case you don’t know him, Bono is the lead singer of the famous band U2. Of course, being the rock star he is, he leads his speech by saying, “My name is Bono, and I am a rock star.”

In his speech, he urges graduates to carefully consider their big idea, in saying:

What are you willing to spend your moral capital, your intellectual capital, your cash, (and) your sweat equity in pursuing outside of the walls of the University of Pennsylvania? The world is more malleable than you think, and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape. Bono

Being a rock star, I thought Bono would talk about the perils of fame, the road to stardom or something to that effect. But instead, he talked about big ideas and changing the world.

10. Amy Poehler – Harvard University, 2011

Life is like a heist that requires good drivers, an explosives expert, a hot girl who doubles as a master of disguise, and this is a hard and fast rule. If the Rock shows up, they’re on to you . Amy Poehler

During her commencement speech at Harvard University in 2011, Amy Poehler expressed her surprise at the invitation to do so. She delivered a speech with jokes, advice, and insight as she looked out at the graduates.

She told them to head out into the world with love, light, joy, and laughter. Finishing off her speech in true Amy Poehler fashion, she also says, “please don’t forget to tip your waitresses.”

11. Meryl Streep – Barnard College, 2010

This is your time, and it feels normal to you, but really there is no normal. There’s only change, and resistance to it and then more change . Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep is an actress most famous for Sophie’s Choice , The Devil Wears Prada , and Mamma Mia . She was asked to deliver the commencement speech to Barnard College in 2010. Her speech was dripping with extreme personality, honesty, and bluntness.

Streep shared her own personal stories and emphasized the importance of empathy. The audience was all women, so the speech was directed at them, but she shared many graduation messages that applied to everyone.

12. Kerry Washington – George Washington University, 2013

You and you alone are the only person who can live the life that writes the story you were meant to tell . Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington is an actress, producer, and director. In 2018, she was named the eighth highest-paid television actress and has won several awards, including the President’s Award.

In her commencement speech at George Washington University in 2013, she urged graduates to go beyond their comfort zones and live their own stories.

How to Create Your Own Inspirational Graduation Speech

Do you need to write your own inspirational speech or curate the perfect graduation message? Here are a few tips on how to do just that, so you can inspire others like the commencement speeches above.

Start With a Quote

Start with a relevant quote. This sets the overall tone of your speech and grabs your audience’s attention. A good example of this is a quote by David Brinkley, “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

Provide Scenarios

Now that you have drawn in the audience, present a what-if scenario to encourage the audience to continue following your thought process.

You can also provide a scenario encouraging the audience to put themselves directly into it. Suggest that they imagine doing something and ask what they would do if it doesn’t go as planned.

If you are giving a graduation message, ask where they see themselves years down the road or what they picture success as. You can then offer advice and insight based on your own experience.

Ask Questions

You should also ask questions, whether they are literal or rhetorical. When you present a question to someone, the person intuitively answers it, keeping them engaged with what you have to say.

Pause for Silence

When giving an inspirational speech, it also helps to pause for a few seconds after important points. This pause allows the audience to react to what you have to say and settle down before you continue with your next statement. The pause is also a good way to draw attention to what you want to say.

What Makes an Inspirational Graduation Speech?

The best graduation speech should have a very uplifting message that leads with education and wisdom. The graduation speech should focus on the graduates’ achievements and accomplishments. It should highlight the sacrifices that may have been made.

When writing a graduation or inspirational speech, ensure a strong theme or message is conveyed to keep your audience’s focus and attention.

Do you remember the speaker on your graduation day? What pearls of wisdom did he or she share?

Related Reading : Don’t forget what you worked so hard on in school! Check out our 150 Education Quotes for Teachers and Students , too. These gems are good for any graduation card when offering congratulations.

Natalie Seale

3 thoughts on “Inspirational Graduation Speeches”

Am really inspired by these brief messages,indeed education has no boundary; therefore, I say to you,” education is immeasurable, regardless of what disciplines or background we find ourselves.

These are very inspiring. My favorite is from J.K. Rowling. Thanks for sharing

Actually Very Inspiring ……thanks for sharing

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Essay on My Plans After Graduation

Students are often asked to write an essay on My Plans After Graduation in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on My Plans After Graduation

My goals after school.

After I finish school, I want to keep learning. I plan to go to college and study to be a teacher. I love helping others and think teaching kids would be a great job for me.

Traveling Dreams

I also dream of traveling to see new places. I want to visit different countries, learn about other cultures, and make new friends from around the world.

Helping My Community

Lastly, I want to give back to my community. I hope to volunteer at local places like libraries or animal shelters, because I believe in making the world a better place.

250 Words Essay on My Plans After Graduation

My future steps.

After I finish school, I have many ideas about what I want to do. First, I plan to take a short break to rest and think about my next steps. This time will help me relax after all the hard work in school.

Further Education

I am very excited to keep learning. So, I plan to go to college. I want to study subjects that interest me and can help me get a good job in the future. I will choose my courses carefully to make sure I enjoy what I am studying.

Getting a Job

I also plan to find a part-time job. This will help me learn new skills that are not taught in school. It will also give me a chance to earn my own money and learn how to manage it.

I believe in giving back to the community. I plan to volunteer at local organizations. This will allow me to help others and make new friends.

Staying Healthy

Lastly, I want to stay healthy and active. I will join a sports team or a fitness club. This will be good for my body and mind.

In conclusion, after graduation, I look forward to learning more, earning some money, helping my community, and staying healthy. I am ready for these new adventures!

500 Words Essay on My Plans After Graduation

Introduction.

After I finish school, I have many ideas about what I want to do. Graduation is a big step that means I am growing up and can start making my own choices. In this essay, I will share my plans for what comes after I graduate.

Going to College

First, I plan to go to college. College is a place where I can learn more about the things I am interested in. I want to study subjects that will help me get a good job in the future. I also want to make new friends and learn about different cultures. College will help me become smarter and more ready for the world.

After college, I want to find a job that makes me happy. I hope to work in a place where I can use what I learned in college. I want to help people and make a difference in the world. I know that finding a job can be hard, but I am ready to work hard and be patient.

I also dream of traveling to new places. Traveling helps us see new things and learn how other people live. I want to visit different countries, try new foods, and speak new languages. I think traveling is a good way to learn, and it can make me a better person.

Helping My Family

My family is very important to me. They have helped me so much, and I want to give back to them. After I graduate and start working, I plan to help my family with money and other things they need. I want to make them proud and show them that their support was worth it.

Saving Money

Saving money is another big plan I have. I want to save money for things like a house and to have a family one day. It’s important to think about the future and be ready for whatever comes. I will try to be smart with my money and save a little bit every time I get paid.

Staying healthy is something I want to keep doing after I graduate. This means eating good food, exercising, and going to the doctor when I need to. Being healthy helps us do our best in life. I plan to join sports or go to the gym to stay fit and strong.

In conclusion, my plans after graduation are all about growing up and taking care of myself and my family. I want to learn more, work hard, travel, help my family, save money, and stay healthy. I am excited for the future and ready to start this new part of my life.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on My Personal Ethics
• Essay on My Parents Is My Hero
• Essay on My Mother My Hero

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Social Life

Why graduation ceremonies are meaningful, commencement is about much more than just awarding degrees..

Posted May 9, 2024 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

• Important moments in our lives are ritualized.
• Research shows that people unconsciously perceive ritual actions to cause actual changes in the world.
• Stripped of a rite of passage, an important transition may feel less real and its significance diminished. 

Following the wave of protests over the war in Gaza, several U.S. universities have decided to cancel or ramp down commencement ceremonies. More are expected to follow.

Announcing their decision, these institutions cited security concerns related to the turmoil and division that followed the protests. This, however, may simply make a bad situation worse.

As an anthropologist who studies the human need for ritual , I have spent two decades investigating the role of collective ceremonies in creating meaning and belonging. I have also seen the flip side of that: depriving people of meaningful rituals can lead to disillusionment and social disengagement.

Rites of passage

From the cradle to the grave, the most important moments of our lives are ritualized. From personal milestones such as birthdays and weddings to societal changes like the transfer of government power , all major transitions are shrouded in ceremony. The fact that these rituals occur without exception in all human societies highlights their importance.

The anthropologist Arnold van Gennep called these ceremonies “rites of passage.” He noted that across cultures, they have a similar structure and achieve similar outcomes.

Rites of passage typically involve three stages. First, participants are separated from their previous way of life, physically or symbolically, and move toward a new status and identity . For instance, civilians may give up their familiar routines and move away from their friends and family to join the army. Students do the same when they leave behind campus life to join the labor force.

The second phase is the liminal period between stages. It is characterized by ambiguity and uncertainty, as initiates leave their former status behind but are are yet to assume their new role. During that period, a cadet may feel as neither a civilian not a soldier; a bride neither single nor married; and candidates neither pupils nor graduates.

In the third and final stage, the transition is complete and the initiate is reintegrated into society with new status. As a military initiation turns civilians into soldiers, a commencement turns apprentices into qualified professionals.

Rituals can shape social reality

Rites of passage do not merely celebrate the transition to a new state – they actively create this new state in the eyes of society.

Research shows that people unconsciously perceive ritual actions to cause actual changes in the world. This is why even minor changes in protocol may leave the impression of failure. When Barack Obama uttered the words to the Presidential oath of office in the wrong order, the legitimacy of his power was questioned. Eventually, he had to retake the oath . Moreover, when an action is ritualized, it feels more special and appealing .

This is why ritual accompanies all special transitions in our lives. And the more significant the moment, the more pomp is required. The grandeur and formality of the ceremony activate psychological processes related to how we appraise the world. Good things require expenditures of effort and resources. A ritual loaded with opulence signals that this is a moment worth remembering.

The opposite is also true. Stripped of a meaningful rite of passage, an important transition may feel less real and its significance diminished. Imagine that no one remembers your 50th birthday; or that, as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, you find yourself on a deserted island. Assuming you had a clock with you, would that transition feel the same?

A passage without a rite

Not everyone cares about a graduation ceremony. Indeed, some graduates choose not to attend theirs. But those are the rare exceptions. The vast majority of graduating students do care, and so do their families, as is evidenced by packed auditoriums and stadiums across the country.

In the spring of 2020, the University of Connecticut, where I teach, announced that it was suspending all campus activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That day, the first question my students asked me was “Will we be able to have a graduation ceremony?” As with most colleges around the world, the answer was no. I still remember the disappointment on their faces.

Most high schools canceled their graduations in 2020, too. And now, many of those students are having a déjà vu. Once again, they will be deprived of an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishment.

Graduating from college can be one of the most important transitions in a person’s life. Unless they are going to graduate school, it involves radical changes in their lifestyle, social relations and overall role in society.

The lack of a symbolic act to demarcate that change can leave graduates in Van Gennep’s liminal space, a feeling that the transition has not been properly completed. In the words of the anthropologist Victor Turner , they are caught “ betwixt and between .”

In addition to their personal importance, rituals also play important roles in shaping group identities . One might even argue that the only times a conglomerate of individuals truly becomes a group is during the performance of collective rituals. After all, the members of an extended family tend to gather together only at events like weddings and funerals. Religious adherents only congregate to perform a sacred ceremony. And a student body only comes together as one to partake in a commencement.

Graduation ceremonies embody not only the sacredness of education and the importance of student achievements, but also graduates’ bonds to their institution and fellow students. In that capacity, such gatherings may be needed more than ever in a context fraught with division.

This article first appeared in The Conversation.

Xygalatas, D (2022). Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living. Little Brown Spark .

Dimitris Xygalatas, Ph.D. , an anthropologist and cognitive scientist, runs the Experimental Anthropology Lab at the University of Connecticut.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Therapy Center NEW
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that threatens to derail our entire day. Here’s how we can face our triggers with less reactivity so that we can get on with our lives.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

College graduation canceled due to anti-war protests? It's happened before.

When societal upheaval stretches to affect colleges’ end-of-year celebrations, it’s often an indicator that the country is navigating an important political and cultural moment, experts say..

As protests continue to disrupt campuses, college leaders across the country have begun asking themselves a difficult question while they scramble to plan graduation ceremonies: Should we cancel?

It’s not a decision they take lightly, though many have likely tackled the conundrum before. Natural disasters, public health concerns and security risks occasionally prompt school leaders to consider altering or nixing commencement ceremonies out of an abundance of caution. 

The bar is high. But campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war appear to be meeting it – at least at some schools, including New York's Columbia University, which has been the nexus of student activism and demands for college administrators to sever economic ties with Israel. On Monday, Columbia canceled its main graduation event, which was slated for mid-May. It will hold smaller, school-based ceremonies instead.

“These past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for our community,” Columbia’s administrators wrote in an update Monday. 

College protests live updates: Columbia cancels main commencement; universities crackdown on encampments

The University of Southern California made a similar call last month, following dozens of arrests and the cancelation of the Los Angeles campus' valedictorian speaker . Emory University in Atlanta this week relocated its festivities.

This year is by no means the first time commencement ceremonies were thrown into disarray. Throughout American history, social unrest, including mass anti-war protests, has impeded the traditional pomp and circumstance that marks the culmination of college for students and their families. Experts say when cultural upheaval on campus hinders colleges’ ability to hold end-of-year celebrations, it can be an indicator that society is experiencing an important political and cultural moment.

But anyone who calls the recent tumult "unprecedented" is missing the mark, said Marybeth Gasman, a professor at Rutgers University who studies the history of higher education in the U.S.

“This has happened over and over and over,” she said. 

Pandemic aftershocks reverberate

The COVID-19 pandemic was the last major disruptor of college graduations. As the virus spread, social-distancing became the norm, and many schools scrapped their ceremonies to prevent mass infections. In the early 20th century, when higher education was much less widely available to people in the U.S., the Spanish flu similarly derailed graduation ceremonies and college sporting events. 

Many seniors set to graduate from Columbia and USC – and other campuses contemplating cancelation – never got to cross a stage in a cap and gown to receive their high school diplomas. Instead, they marked the end of 12th grade with drive-through and Zoom ceremonies. Though the pandemic upended the traditional college-going experience for broad swaths of American students, the Class of 2024 has been hit hardest, sandwiched in between two highly unpredictable chapters in American society – a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and a new war in the Middle East, both of which have caused profound cultural fracturing. 

Natural disasters have plagued the commencement tradition, too. In 1972, Hurricane Agnes drenched central Pennsylvania in 19 inches of rain. The calamitous flooding that year forced Penn State Harrisburg to cancel the event, according to the school's website . Hurricanes Irma and Harvey in 2017 had the same impacts for some students.

Echoes of another anti-war era

Public reaction to U.S. involvement in armed conflicts has long interfered with college graduations, dating back to World War I and during World War II . Historians have also drawn throughlines between today’s anti-war movement and young people’s opposition to the Vietnam War and South African apartheid. 

Student demonstrators at Columbia, an Ivy League school, took over the Manhattan campus in 1968 to protest the university’s ties to a war-connected think tank (and plans for a gym that would have been functionally segregated). The demonstrations led to mass arrests, not unlike those seen in recent weeks on the same campus. 

The Columbia situation, explained: Alumni pressure and a crime-fighting mayor helped set the stage for another round of arrests

Administrators eventually capitulated to the students' demands and Columbia’s commencement ceremony took place that year, though it was held several blocks from campus. Instead of the school’s then-president addressing the crowd, a history professor gave the keynote speech . 

Then came the Kent State shootings. In May 1970, National Guardsmen shot and killed four students at the public university in Kent, Ohio, during demonstrations over the Vietnam War. Nine others were wounded, including a freshman who was paralyzed as a result of the shooting. 

Kent State shootings: Paralyzed by a bullet, he still loves Kent State, urges others to be 'good citizens'

The ordeal ultimately gave rise to a widespread student strike that closed hundreds of colleges and worsened already-souring public sentiment over the war.

Graduation ceremonies were another casualty of the Kent State shootings. New York's Hunter College scrapped its end-of-year event and invited the Class of 1970 back to walk the stage nearly a decade later, the New York Times reported in 1979. On May 5, 1970, Boston University's school council also voted to cancel exams and skip commencement . Those students ultimately walked the stage 40 years afterward.

In the ensuing decades, colleges started to decentralize their graduation ceremonies, according to John Thelin, a higher education historian and the author of “Going to College in the Sixties.” Many schools began to hold smaller, more intimate events for students to receive their diplomas alongside classmates enrolled in similar degree programs. It's a trend that has continued and will likely make it possible for many Columbia graduates to don their robes and still have a somewhat traditional send-off.

Despite the historical parallels, college campuses are far more diverse and inclusive than they were five decades ago. On the whole, that's a good thing, Thelin said. But it also has created new challenges for administrators when it comes to navigating issues as complex and personal as the war in the Middle East.

“An irony is that with diversity, in addition to harmony, you also have a chance for disagreement,” Thelin said. “The chances for some spark of tension within the ranks of a campus are greater than they were.”

Zachary Schermele covers education and breaking news for   USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele .

• Share full article

Denied a Second Chance at a Normal Senior Year

After Covid ruined high school graduation for the class of 2020, the response to campus protests might upend their college commencements.

Divya Jakatdar, 21, the student body president at the University of Southern California, called the changes to her college graduation a “big hit to morale.” Credit... Philip Cheung for The New York Times

Supported by

By Callie Holtermann ,  Sandra E. Garcia and Frank Rojas

• Published April 26, 2024 Updated April 29, 2024

Divya Jakatdar imagined that she would spend her senior year of high school celebrating college acceptances with her friends, attending prom and walking across the stage at graduation to the cheers of her family members.

Instead, her senior spring arrived at the same time as the coronavirus pandemic. She said goodbye to high school classmates over Zoom; her graduation was a drive-through.

Ms. Jakatdar, 21, thought her senior year at the University of Southern California might be a kind of do-over. But it has erupted into unrest in recent weeks after the school initially canceled commencement speeches by its valedictorian , Asna Tabassum, the director Jon M. Chu and the tennis star Billie Jean King, citing safety concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war, and then went a step further on Thursday, canceling the university’s “main stage” commencement ceremony entirely .

“It’s a very big hit to morale for the exact class that felt like they lost their high school graduation,” Ms. Jakatdar, the student body president of U.S.C., said a few minutes after getting news that the commencement was off. “We’ve missed out on enough.”

But as was the case during Covid, Ms. Jakatdar does not feel quite right about moping: “It seems sort of ridiculous for us to complain about graduation when people’s lives are on the line.”

It is a story that is playing out across the country. Millions of high schoolers had their senior years upended by Covid in 2020, being left to celebrate their momentous occasion in isolation. Four years later, many of those same students have had the traditions of their senior years foiled once again, this time in response to the Israel-Hamas war, and the attempts by universities to shut down or contain widespread protests.

At Columbia University in New York City, the university president called the police to clear an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, resulting in the arrests of more than 100 protesters. After canceling in-person instruction for a day, classes were made to have an online option for the remainder of the spring semester. At U.S.C., students protested for days, calling the administration to reinstate Ms. Tabassum as speaker. The wave of student activism extends to pro-Palestinian protests at schools including Yale University, the University of Michigan, the University of Texas at Austin and M.I.T.

Members of the class of 2024 say they are once again juggling an altered personal milestone with feelings of anxiety and frustration about the state of the world that lies beyond college. Many of them say they are keeping their own inconveniences in perspective, but the fact remains: The class of pandemic graduates seems destined never to know a stereotypical senior year.

“A lot of our milestones have had some big, looming global atrocity over us,” said Sophia Pargas, a senior at Emerson College in Boston. “It’s almost like we’ve been conditioned for it at this point.”

Ms. Pargas, 21, has spent recent months covering protests on campus and arrests of her fellow students for her school paper, The Berkeley Beacon. Still, she said she is trying to find moments of celebration. She plans to attend a makeup prom that her class is hosting for seniors who never got to go the first time.

Maideh Orangi, 22, a senior at U.S.C. and an executive director of its Middle Eastern North African Student Assembly, has spent much of her year organizing demonstrations and vigils for the Palestinians killed in Gaza since Israel’s invasion.

“I expected it to be more typical senior year things,” Ms. Orangi said. “But I’m not upset that this has been a defining aspect of my senior year.”

Ms. Orangi said she and other students were shocked when the university-wide commencement ceremony was canceled. “The one glimmer of hope, the one bright side that I was looking forward to in all of this was that one commencement, and now it’s just all gone,” she said. “It feels like the whole end to my senior year is surrounded by a really sour feeling.”

For Rachel Burns, a senior at Barnard College, a proper graduation has been a long time coming. When she graduated from high school four years ago, in Portland, Maine, she did so from her car in the school parking lot. This time around, her only plan is to make sure that her and her fellow protesters’ demands are met by the university.

“I think that what’s most important right now is that we stick together and put up a united front against the administration and if that means sacrificing my graduation, then I’m willing to do that,” Ms. Burns, 24, said while wearing a kaffiyeh around her head and dark sunglasses in front of Butler Library.

Not every student feels that way. Ruby Cayenne, 23, a senior at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, in Arcata, Calif., said she was heartbroken by the prospect that protests might disrupt her graduation. “I have put my blood, sweat and tears into getting this degree. The family on my father’s side are Cuban immigrants and they fought hard to get into this country and to provide a life where their future generations can get an education.”

Ms. Cayenne, who is Jewish and identifies as a Zionist, said that she had felt personally harassed by the individuals from the Humboldt for Palestine group. “They sought me out. They called me a genocide supporter, a baby killer, a fascist,” Ms. Cayenne said. “They don’t know me, they don’t know what I support. So to know that those people are potentially going to take away my opportunity to experience my hard-earned graduation is a horrible feeling.”

The emotions range widely among other affected students.

Neeve Levy, 24, who started at Columbia in 2020 after a couple gap years, was crushed when she realized classes would be remote because of the pandemic. Now a senior, she said she understands the protesters and struggles with not protesting herself but she sees how polarizing the topic has been.

“I have a lot of respect for the protesters and what the students are doing,” Ms. Levy said from Butler library. “I struggle with seeing how it’s affecting many of my Jewish friends.”

Ms. Levy’s grandparents live in Israel and have been excited to see their granddaughter graduate, but now that might not happen.

“At the beginning there were questions of whether or not they could make it because of airlines canceling after Iran bombed Israel,” she said. “It’s crazy to me, the fact that I’m actually graduating from here — or that I even got here — and the thing that’s stopping it is not me.”

Sofia Ongele, 24, was also not part of the 2020 pandemic class of high schoolers, but her own senior year wasn’t exactly what she expected. Her small charter school in Santa Clarita, Calif., closed around the time of her graduation, so the ceremony was small and disappointing, and a gap year was spent at home.

Now a senior at Columbia, her spring is being dominated by world events of a different kind. Speaking from inside the protest encampment on the south field of Columbia University’s Upper Manhattan campus, she said she couldn’t think of a better way to spend the last few weeks of her college years than taking part in a protest with her fellow classmates.

“Unfortunately, being Gen Z means dealing with repeated states of the world that are in absolute hostility and turmoil,” Ms. Ongele said, while standing in front of a community guidelines board in front of the encampment, wearing a black face mask. “We are the generation of school shootings, the generation that is tasked to deal with climate change. We’ve just been dealt the short end of the stick time and time again. I’m not going to say that it feels expected because I feel like at some point of our lives we should know normalcy but it’s been a lot.”

Having an actual commencement ceremony means a lot to Lindsay, 21, who requested to be identified by only her given name to protect her employment opportunities after college. Her graduation from a private high school in Manhattan, four years ago, was “anticlimactic,” she said, and she is now worried she may not get to celebrate her graduation from Columbia either.

“It’s a lot of emotions,” she said while standing in front of bleachers installed near Low Library in preparation for commencement. “Graduation from college is a pretty big deal.”

She said she was hopeful that commencement would go on at least in some capacity, even if she struggled to envision it.

“I am not sure how that would go on,” she said, glancing over at the encampment. “I would just hope that anybody who wants to protest gives space to people who are graduating and let it be about us seniors and not about anything else.”

With graduation less than a month away at Cal State Humboldt, a campus closure and student protests have triggered a wave of memories in some students.

Jacqueline V. Espinoza, 21, a senior at Humboldt, said it was around this time four years ago that she last experienced this kind of intersection of personal and global history.

“It was a surreal moment when I think of the class of 2020,” said Ms. Espinoza, an English major. “I remember like a bunch of the B.L.M. protests going on during that time, and now that I’m graduating in 2024, I can definitely see the parallels.”

Dezmond Remington, 20, also of Cal State Humboldt, said that while he was excited to finally graduate, he was hoping to finish in a more low-key fashion.

“I was really looking forward to an easy couple of last weeks where my whole family could be here and I could graduate and get on with my life,” he said.

At U.S.C., Mustafa Ali Khan, 21, had been looking forward to his graduation, especially after transferring there following two years of community college. “One puts a lot of weight in these moments. It’s kind of like a culmination of a lot of work you put in.”

He said the decision to cancel U.S.C.’s main commencement would be especially painful for family members, many of whom had already made plans to come to campus.

“My mom’s saying she can’t wait for my grad school graduation now,” he said.

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misidentified Rachel Burns. She is a senior at Barnard College, not Columbia. The article also referred imprecisely to Columbia’s response to the protests. Although Columbia instruction went completely online for one day, classes went to a hybrid model for the remainder of the semester, not fully virtual.

How we handle corrections

Callie Holtermann reports on style and pop culture for The Times. More about Callie Holtermann

Frank Rojas is a 2023-24  reporting fellow on the Styles desk at the Times.  More about Frank Rojas

Explore Our Style Coverage

The latest in fashion, trends, love and more..

The Most ‘Unretired Retired Person’:  The stylist Law Roach on his role as an “image architect,” being a diva  and his master plan for what’s next.

Sofia Coppola’s Latest Release:  Her tinted balm was inspired  by products that the filmmaker confected as a girl to achieve the “berry-stained lips” of a character in a Roman Polanski movie.

The Man Who Drew New York : Jason Polan chronicled city life in thousands of sketches  before he died at 37 in 2020. What happens to his legacy now?

Beyoncé’s Last Fashion Frontier:  It’s now impossible to see a cowboy hat  or pair of cowboy boots and not think of her.

Meet the Men Who Eat Meat:  With the help of Joe Rogan,  a social media trend with staying power  emerged from a 2018 book, “The Carnivore Diet.”

Advertisement

The Class of 2024: The road from virtual classes to college graduation

Hofstra University student Antonio Collado on campus in Hempstead on Thursday. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.

College students in the Class of 2024 started four years ago in a pandemic with virtual classes and the rituals of freshman year lost to masks and social distancing.

They are now about to graduate during a time when some campuses locally and nationwide have erupted in pro-Palestinian protests and unrest. With commencement just days away for thousands of Long Island students, educators say they are a resilient group who have endured a challenging four years to earn their degrees.

Their high school graduations may have been online, outdoors or drive-by affairs. Proms and parties were canceled as their in-person senior year abruptly ended in mid-March 2020 due to COVID-19 fears. The pandemic influenced their first years in college, too, with virtual instruction or hybrid learning and an introduction to higher education that was anything but typical.

“What we see with this cohort is incredible resilience,” said Merry McVey-Noble, Hofstra University's executive director of student counseling services. “They're really going after the things that they want … We see them being very passionate in their pursuit of their education, their internships, their career goals.

“… And we see them now so excited to walk at graduation.”

The local graduation season kicks off on Long Island with commencement at LIU Post in Brookville on Tuesday. Here are the stories of some outstanding graduates:

The 21-year-old triplets from Hicksville all didn’t plan to attend Long Island University when they were in high school, but it worked out that way. The three have been commuter students and are now ready for commencement.

Shayla and Ryan majored in education and Brandon in computer science. They were in some of the same classes freshman and sophomore years.

“That was a nice way to start because we were able to help each other out during the first few years,” Ryan Kaim said.

Commencement also will mark the end of their academic journey together. By next year, Shayla and Ryan will remain at LIU for graduate school while Brandon enters the field of either cybersecurity or software development.

The siblings graduated in 2020 from Hicksville High School during the pandemic, and their high school graduation was held under restrictions. They are excited for the upcoming LIU ceremony — each graduate gets 10 tickets for guests and they said they may use all 30.

Their younger brother, Sean, who is 17, plans to attend LIU in the fall. Shayla Kaim said she took out student loans to help finance her education, Brandon received a full scholarship to the school and Ryan received some scholarship money as well.

They are all graduating with honors.

“There were times where Ryan, Brandon and I were in the same class,” Shayla Kaim said. “If I had a question, I always had someone to go to. I felt like they just guided me along the way.”

Graduating from Valley Stream Central High School during the pandemic meant a drive-by recognition event, a socially distanced graduation and canceled prom and graduation parties for Antonio Collado, now 21.

The experience of living through a global event ended up influencing Collado to study biochemical research. He will graduate from Hofstra University on May 19 with a degree in biochemistry. He plans to pursue graduate work and eventually earn his PhD.

At first, he was not sure whether he wanted to research the development of pharmaceuticals or pursue a degree in medicine.

“So when COVID happened, my thought process was that there will be future pandemics to come because there's so many diseases that we haven't discovered,” he said, adding that he wanted to focus on infectious and genetic disease research.

He will be joined at the commencement ceremony by family, including several who are coming from out of town. He also plans to attend a banquet for chemistry majors and an ice cream after party as well. It’s very different, he said, from his high school experience when he finished at Valley Stream Central.

“I can’t wait for commencement because I feel like graduating college is such a bigger achievement than high school,” he said. “One of the professors always tells me and my friends that we're a very gifted class … We got through this — we can conquer anything.”

It took nearly two decades for Tracie Esposito, of East Moriches, to reach her goal of earning a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph's University in Patchogue. Esposito had endured a childhood trauma, was a stay-at-home mom for years and started her own custom apron business from her home. She's now looking forward to taking part in the May 23 commencement ceremony with her friends and family.

She plans to decorate her cap with the phrase: “Speed Doesn't Matter. Forward is Forward.”

“Graduation day initially was just going to be me and my husband and my daughter and then I said, ‘No, you just need to celebrate,’ ” said Esposito, 48. So she got 10 tickets and is having 10 family members attend.

“… I want to show up for myself,” she said. “I want my daughter to see that hard work pays off.”

She earned a bachelor's degree in general studies with a minor in psychology and has a 4.0 grade point average. 

She started sewing as a young teen and continued throughout life. She considered sewing as part of her therapy after her father died in a plane crash when she was 11. Esposito wanted to enter the design field and graduated from Nassau Community College with an associate degree. She worked for a design firm in Manhattan and was asked to be a teaching assistant at Nassau. She wanted to work full time there, but needed a bachelor's degree.

Esposito started taking classes at St. Joseph's. In 2006, she found out she was pregnant. She paused her education to raise her daughter, Madison. While staying at home, she started a custom apron business, and her product has been sold in more than 40 countries. When the pandemic hit, she closed the business and sewed hundreds of masks that she donated. Meanwhile, she was working with a therapist on her own trauma, and in 2021 she decided to go back to college. She would go on to meet with admissions at St. Joseph's.

“Something happened where I just blew off the dust off my files from St. Joe's and I said I have to go back,” she said. She earned enough credits to graduate this month and in the fall of 2025, Madison, who is now a junior at Center Moriches High School, plans to attend the school, too.

With her degree, Esposito said she would like to incorporate sewing into therapy to help others. She'd like to work with children.

“Sewing gives them something tangible that they can do with their hands and gets you in the flow state of creativity,” she said. “And I didn't know that this is what was saving me. And so now I want to save others.”

With Michael Ebert

WHAT TO KNOW

• College students in the Class of 2024 started out four years ago in a pandemic with virtual classes and the rituals of freshman year lost to masks and social distancing.
• With commencement just days away for thousands of Long Island students, educators say they are a resilient group who have endured a challenging four years to earn their degrees.
• The local graduation season kicks off on Long Island with LIU’s commencement on Tuesday.

Get the latest updates on how education is changing in your district.

By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy .

Triplets Brandon, Shayla and Ryan Kaim from Hicksville will graduate from LIU Post together. They are pictured on May 3 at LIU Post in Brookville. Credit: Dawn McCormick

Shayla, Ryan and Brandon Kaim

Hofstra University student Antonio Collado on campus in Hempstead on May 2. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.

Antonio Collado

St. Joseph's University college student Tracie Esposito on campus in Patchogue on Thursday. Credit: James Carbone

Tracie Esposito

Commencement schedule.

• Adelphi University, May 21, undergraduates at 10:30 a.m., graduates at 4 p.m., Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
• Farmingdale State College, May 16 at 11 a.m., Nold Athletic Complex
• Five Towns College, May 23 at 10 a.m., Performing Arts Center at Five Towns College
• Hofstra University, May 19 at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m. at the Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex on campus
• LIU Post (Long Island University), May 14 at 10:30 a.m. at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium
• Molloy University, May 20 at 1 p.m. at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
• Nassau Community College, May 22 at 7 p.m. at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
• New York Institute of Technology, May 19 at 9 a.m. at New York Tech's Long Island campus
• SUNY Old Westbury, May 22 at noon at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
• St. Joseph's University, May 23 at noon at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
• Stony Brook University, May 17 at 11 a.m. at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium
• Suffolk County Community College, May 16 at 2 p.m., Suffolk Credit Union Arena on the Michael J. Grant Campus in Brentwood
• Touro Law Center, May 23 at 1 p.m., Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
• Webb Institute, June 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the Webb Institute

Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.

Most Popular

Latest videos.

Opinion: The commencement USC students, and their parents, should have had

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

Last weekend as a parent, and 36 years ago as a student, I went to Michigan Stadium to be among tens of thousands for the annual graduation ceremony of the University of Michigan.

On Saturday morning, I walked with my wife and daughter — and 87-year-old Grandma Nora — the mile from campus to the Big House, waited in a long security line and then climbed the steps to row 96, the top of the bleachers. Fifteen thousand students from 26 of the university’s schools were on the football field, my son among them. More than 60,000 extremely proud parents and loved ones sat in the stands.

I do not know the precise risks USC, Columbia and other universities faced that caused them to cancel their school-wide commencement ceremonies this year. But what my family experienced on Saturday underlined that the loss will be substantial, and it extends well beyond the personal.

USC’s faculty senate censures President Carol Folt and provost over commencement

The vote followed a nearly three-hour meeting Wednesday in which USC’s faculty members criticized the decisions of President Folt and provost Andrew Guzman.

May 9, 2024

After the obligatory “Hail to the Victors” rendition, and the flag raising, when all were seated and the speeches began on Saturday, I teared up thinking of our son’s measly high school graduation in spring 2020. We watched a pretaped video from his high school in our kitchen, and that was it. The opportunity to be captain of his ultimate frisbee team senior year, gone. Same with high school prom. Never a goodbye or thank you to his favorite history teacher. No graduation parties. And his first year in Ann Arbor was just as riven by COVID-19.

But four years later, the pomp and circumstance were very satisfying. Some of the speeches were very good, others less so. And, yes, there was a protest — about 50 among the thousands of graduates unfurled flags and banners and chanted in support of Palestinian rights. A plane circled the stadium with a banner saying “We stand with Israel,” and a later a banner (perhaps pulled by the same plane) read “Divest from Israel.” Yet the speakers’ voices were heard; the students were honored.

At a college graduation, parents need to be able to share a spiritual high-five on the enormity of mentoring (and paying for) a child’s education. And students need to be with peers for a grand public celebration of all they’ve achieved.

Metal detectors, fear, frustration. College commencements altered amid Gaza war protests

At many universities across the country, graduation for the Class of 2024 will feel more like making it through airport security than a procession through a free-flowing campus green or a cheering stadium crowd.

May 5, 2024

The universities that have canceled their main-stage events may counter that they are offering smaller, more intimate ceremonies that also publicly acknowledge the next generation. That’s nice, and before and after the Big House spectacle we attended department-only events. I met our son’s favorite professor and hugged his sophomore-year roommates and their parents. But department gatherings are far from an adequate replacement for community-wide ceremonies.

When I got my bachelor’s degree in 1988, I remember that we students talked so much during the commencement address — while beach balls bounced from row to row to row of capped and gowned graduates — that the speaker admonished us for being rude. (He was right.) There were protests then too: The biggest demonstration was reserved for former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, who had helped engineer the U.S. military role in Central America. I was a student activist — winning a campaign for student government president on a platform that the university should not be able to expel students for non-academic protest activity.

Yet I didn’t view the graduation ceremony as a referendum on the school or my free speech and assembly rights, or national defense policy either. It was a public acknowledgment of a personal milestone, and it was meaningful.

Did USC set ‘very bad precedent’ by canceling valedictorian speech over safety threats?

Campus administrators nationwide struggle to uphold principles of free expression amid pressure from those who claim speech, or potential speech, can subject students to harm.

April 18, 2024

Saturday night, I carefully composed the obligatory social media post of the day’s events for friends and family who couldn’t be there. I purposely didn’t include images or mention of the protests. But sure enough, the protests were what generated front-page coverage across the nation.

Signs and chants indeed offer sensational media images. VIPs and their speeches may be rudely interrupted. Protesters may exercise their rights and make a mess of the program. Security may be tested. But absent profound dangers, cancellation or curtailment do not outweigh the benefits of a public celebration of education and excellence.

College graduation at USC, or Columbia or Michigan, is a once-in-a-lifetime milestone; a balkanized approach doesn’t do it justice. Administrators should not cause students and their families to settle for less.

Ken Weine lives in Brooklyn and is a communications consultant.

More to Read

Pomona College moves graduation ceremony to L.A. after protesters occupy stage

May 11, 2024

After USC canceled graduation, Jewish students held their own ceremony

May 10, 2024

Silenced USC valedictorian walked the stage and the crowd reaction was anything but silent

A cure for the common opinion

Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Calmes: Our elections have integrity. These politicians do not

May 12, 2024

My family’s generations of mothering

Abcarian: The porn star with a well-deserved place in American history

UCLA chancellor faces growing faculty criticism, no-confidence vote, after weeks of turmoil

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Poetry — Graduation By Maya Angelou Analysis

Graduation by Maya Angelou Analysis

• Categories: Discrimination Poetry

About this sample

Words: 483 |

Published: Mar 14, 2024

Words: 483 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof Ernest (PhD)

Verified writer

• Expert in: Social Issues Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

3 pages / 1195 words

4 pages / 1801 words

2 pages / 1071 words

4 pages / 1748 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Poetry

William Blake's "The Lamb" is a renowned poem that has fascinated readers for centuries. The poem is part of a collection known as "Songs of Innocence," first published in 1789. The poem is a short, simple, and sweet piece that [...]

Poetry has a universal appeal that transcends time and space, evoking emotions and inspiring reflection. Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a prime example of the power of poetry to captivate and provoke [...]

Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" was penned in 1899 at the height of European colonialism and imperialism. The poem reflects the prevalent attitudes towards colonial rule and the perceived responsibilities of the [...]

Allen Ginsberg is a prominent figure in American literature, known for his influential poetry that captures the essence of the Beat Generation and critiques the social and political landscape of America during the Cold War era. [...]

Carol Ann Duffy wrote 'The World's Wife' in order to scrutinize the representation of both men and women, inspired by her strong feminist views -- reconstructing, for example, many of the 'voiceless women' from throughout [...]

Across Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and ‘For My Lover, Returning to His Wife’ by Anne Sexton, jealousy is presented as both resulting in self-deprecation and anger. Whereas in ‘After the Lunch’ by Wendy Cope a form of love [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free