Cue the “Pomp and Circumstance” music because spring graduation is right around the corner.
The U Campus Store celebrated the occasion Thursday with its annual “graduation fair” for seniors to purchase their caps and gowns. Five hundred students came on the first day, rushing around, hugging friends and picking out tassels.
Monica Salas, a graduating senior in health promotion and education, was beaming as she looked at graduation frames.
“This whole experience is completely overwhelming,” she said. “I am the first person in my family to graduate. It is unreal that this is happening for me. The whole experience is very new.”
Julie Henry, a senior in urban ecology, said she is so grateful for her college experience.
“My time at the U has taught me not only lessons from the books I’ve read but lessons about life and who I am as a person,” she said.
For those who missed the event the first day, it’s open again from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students leaving the graduation fair will be directed toward a large, white block U to sign with Sharpie markers, and many have already scribbled their signatures with pride.
“I received a great education here,” Salas said. “But equally as important, I felt supported every step of the way and really felt that I mattered even though I was one of thousands of students who go here.”
@mary_royal