Prolonged applause from a crowd of 22,000 filled the breezy spring air in Delaware Stadium during the University of Delaware's 155th Commencement Saturday, May 29.
Thousands of family members and friends streamed into the stadium as early as 7 a.m., two hours before the formal event began. Members of the Class of 2004 entered the stadium to cheers, waves and bright signs that sparkled in the sun. "Lauren, love you," read one.
The soon-to-be alumni were followed by alumni representatives of the classes from the 1930s through 2003. The procession included 42 parents and two grandparents of graduating seniors and 10 members of the 50th reunion class of 1954.
The ceremony opened with a moment of silence during the presentation of the colors by members of the University of Delaware Air Force and Army ROTC. UD President David P. Roselle also paid tribute to the 48 students and five employees whose Reserve or National Guard units had been called to active military duty in Iraq.
Colorful flags of the home states and 130 countries represented by the student body were displayed on the field, and graduates who participated in study abroad wore sashes that featured the colors of the flags of the countries where they studied.
Conferred were 192 doctoral, 718 master's, 3,649 bachelor's and 10 associate's degrees earned during the past academic year. Kate Stark, of Wilmington, and Stefanie Perri, of Haverford, Pa., were recognized for achieving the highest grade point average--4.0--in full-time study at UD.
"Among those of you graduating today is a wealth of diversity and interest greater than any class before you," Roselle said. "There is, in fact, a common bond for all of you graduating today as we celebrate the 261st year of this institution's existence. The first class of 1743 was a very special one, indeed, having three members of the class who were signers of the Declaration of Independence among its students. Your class, by all standards, continues that legacy of achievement."
Alli Garwood and Amy Bousa, representatives of the senior class, announced that more than $25,600 in gifts and pledges had been collected for a class gift to help replace the century-old linden trees in front of Old College on the Newark campus that were destroyed last fall by Hurricane Isabel.
"All of you bring your own set of identifying characteristics and experiences to this celebration today," Roselle said. "All of you set forth today on a path even more remarkable than the one that brought you here. All of you will meet challenges.
I hope you will face them with the tools you have acquired at the University of Delaware and make better lives for yourselves and for the people of our world."
--Martin Mbugua