Loyola University Chicago 2017 Commencement

Loyola University Chicago 2017 Commencement

 

No, I did not graduate, but I still have 1 more year to go. Nevertheless, it is good and exciting to see what I will experience in 12 more months! I cannot believe that my Loyola experience is 3/4 complete and that I now have to get ready for the future ahead of me. It is scary, yet it is inevitable. It is amazing to see friends post pictures of their graduation; I am so proud of them and their accomplishments. Now, it will be my turn next.

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Commencement is the same as graduation, but just a fancier version. It is similar to a high school graduation, but there are more pomp and circumstance for the hard (HARD) work students have done over the years to complete their bachelor’s degree, especially from an LUC Commencement. It is quite beautiful to see Loyola’s campus change for the event of commencement. Flowers all over campus get planted, tulips and cherry blossoms bloom right on time, flags and tables are set out on the quad, and most importantly, the Gentile Arena is transformed for the ceremony.

Gentile Arena did change its normal set up for graduation. From previous years, they had displayed their maroon and gold school colors on drapes that hung from the ceiling. Loyola’s logo hung from them and in the middle of the stage, there was a huge screen to better see speakers’ faces.

This year, they designed the stage more simpler. The backdrop was a black curtain and each school banner was hung horizontally across the stage. “Loyola University Chicago” in letters was hung above the banners. two big projector screens were on both sides of the stage.

If you did not know already, it is simply impossible to fit ALL the graduates in one event so reasonably, there are different dates and times in which graduates walk. They are categorized by the school in which they are from, for example, College of Arts and Sciences, Niehoff School of Nursing, School of Social Work, and so on. The Loyola Commencement ceremonies are not only held for undergraduates, but for graduates as well (receiving their Master’s degrees). They also host for the Loyola Academy (high school) graduations as well. To say in the least, the month of May is FULL of pomp and circumstance.

Even before graduation, there is a tradition for graduating seniors to walk out of the convocation doors of Cudahy Library. If you do not know already, freshmen traditionally walk IN the doors, marking their beginning of their time at Loyola. It makes sense to walk OUT when your graduate. It is pretty symbolic because these doors are only opened 2 times in the year– once for freshmen in August and once for seniors in May.

Again, I am excited to experience this soon, but I am sad to leave such a good school and start my life again in a new chapter. Who knows what lies ahead, but I am curious enough and prepared to face whatever comes my way.

 

 

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