As college commencement season begins, some four million graduates are deciding whether they’ll receive their degrees in person or by mail. Having made the wrong decision decades ago, I felt a need to urge 2024 grads to do as I say, not as I did. Walk!
Most graduates this year missed their high school graduations due to the pandemic, so this might be their only opportunity to celebrate their academic accomplishments.
I didn’t fully understand the significance of commencement ceremonies until I became a faculty member at DePaul and was required to attend. As I for the first time joined fellow professors filing into the jam-packed Allstate Arena filled with proud family and friends of graduates, I realized the significance of the event – especially for first-generation college graduates. Then, I saw the excited faces of graduates as they spotted familiar professors.
Some of the best insight about commencement attendance came from a Redditt reader who regretted missing hers: “It’s likely the only time you’ll have the opportunity and regretting not having gone seems worse than feeling like you wasted three hours of your day.”
As a parent, I was disappointed when our younger son announced he wasn’t going to walk at his graduation. Instead, he and his girlfriend were going to attend the Kentucky Derby. At the last minute, her parents convinced her to attend so he, too, realized the Derby is held every year but graduations only happen once or twice in your life. We enjoyed all three hours in the hot gymnasium as we waited for the 30 seconds of their crossing the stage and shaking hands with the president of Miami University.
Nearly 40 years after missing my college graduation, I was invited to give the commencement address at my alma mater, Indiana State University. On behalf of their proud families in the Hulman Center Arena, I thanked graduates for doing something I always regretted missing. My parents would also have loved every second of the long, boring event.
Don’t miss creating once-in-a-lifetime memories that you might regret later. Walk!
P.S. I realize that several campuses are experiencing demonstrations that may affect attendance decisions. Unfortunately, a few universities have canceled graduation ceremonies. But most plan to proceed. After missing high school graduations four years ago, you deserve to celebrate your hard work and achievement. Congratulations.