The word itself tells a story. While it might seem odd to call an ending a "commencement," the term perfectly captures the ceremony's true purpose. This isn't just about finishing school—it is about beginning the next chapter of life. The medieval Latin roots of the word mean "to begin together," which is exactly what happens when a class of graduates steps into the world ready to make their mark.

Understanding the visual language of commencement can help families and friends better appreciate—and capture—the ceremony's meaningful moments. Here's what to look for and why it matters:

Graduation Gowns
Graduation gowns trace their roots to the medieval European universities of the 12th-13th centuries, where scholars—often clerics—wore long robes and hoods for warmth in unheated stone halls and to signal their scholarly status. Over time, the practical garment evolved into a uniform symbol of academia: a visual reminder that, beneath varied majors and backgrounds, every graduate belongs to the same centuries-old community of learning. Today’s cap-and-gown tradition preserves that continuity, marking the transition from student to alum while linking each new class to generations of scholars who came before.

Mortarboard vs. Velvet Tam
While most graduates sport the familiar square mortarboard, scan the crowd for plush velvet tams—often six-sided caps that mark doctorate holders and university presidents. These distinctive caps, descended from medieval birettas, signal the highest academic achievements. 

Colored Velvet Trim
Those colorful accents aren't just decorative—they're an academic code. Orange signals engineering, light blue represents education, purple marks law degrees, and so on, all following the Academic Costume Code. Doctorate holders also wear three distinctive bars on their sleeves. 

The Tassel Flip
Perhaps no single moment captures the ceremony's transformative power like the tassel flip. Bachelor's degree candidates start with tassels on the right side of their caps, then flip them to the left when degrees are officially conferred. It's an instant, stadium-wide rite of passage that creates a perfect photo opportunity. Start recording before the dean announces, "Graduates, move your tassels to the left."

The Ceremonial Mace
That ornate staff at the front of the procession isn’t a random prop—it’s the modern heir to a medieval weapon. In the Middle Ages, maces were literal clubs carried by guards; over time they morphed into jeweled symbols of civic or academic power. Today a university’s mace represents the president’s authority to confer degrees. No mace on stage, no legal ceremony. That’s why a specially chosen “mace-bearer” (often the senior faculty marshal) steps off first, clearing the aisle for the rest of the academic parade. 

"Pomp and Circumstance"
This musical staple has a surprisingly specific origin story. Edward Elgar's composition first played at Yale's 1905 ceremony when the composer received an honorary doctorate, then spread nationwide within a decade. The music's deliberate tempo sets the perfect walking pace for graduates.

Latin Honors Decoded
When graduates' names are announced, you might hear "summa cum laude," "magna cum laude," or "cum laude" following certain students. These Latin phrases translate to "with highest honor" (usually top 5% of class), "with great honor" (typically top 10%), and "with honor" (often top 25%), respectively. The tradition dates back to Harvard in 1869 and recognizes exceptional academic achievement. Listen for the subtle pause and emphasis when these honors are announced—it's your cue that someone worked extraordinarily hard.

The Walk Itself
Perhaps no moment is more symbolic than the actual walk across the stage. Those seemingly endless seconds between hearing your name called and shaking the dean's hand represent the physical bridge between student and graduate. Modern technology has streamlined this process—many campuses now use QR codes on graduation cards and AI-powered systems to help announcers pronounce names correctly, ensuring every graduate gets their moment of recognition. In that brief journey from stage left to stage right, students transform into alumni before hundreds of witnesses.

Eco-update 2025
Many campuses now offer graduation gowns woven from recycled plastic bottles and provide QR-code-only programs to reduce paper waste, proving that ancient traditions can embrace modern sustainability.

Steve Jobs

In his legendary 2005 Stanford address, Jobs distilled life's complexity into three simple stories that have become commencement wisdom for the ages. His first story about "connecting the dots" encouraged graduates to trust that seemingly random experiences would make sense looking backward. The second, about "love and loss," shared how getting fired from Apple ultimately led him back to do his best work. His final story about death urged graduates to live authentically because "your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." He concluded with advice that has guided countless graduates: "Stay hungry, stay foolish." His message resonated because it acknowledged that the path ahead wouldn't be linear or predictable, but that was exactly what made it worth pursuing.

Other Famous Keynote Speakers

Barack Obama, speaking to graduates throughout his presidency, often emphasized service and civic engagement. At Howard University in 2016, he challenged students with these words: "Be confident in your heritage. Be confident in your blackness... But remember that your job as a citizen and as a person of conscience is to constantly push against bias, discrimination, and inequality." Modern speakers bring fresh perspectives to timeless themes. Mark Rober, the former NASA engineer turned YouTube educator, often speaks about embracing failure as part of the learning process, telling MIT graduates to "cross your river one rock at a time, but do it with the naïve optimism that it's all going to work out." Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, frequently addresses the democratization of education and the responsibility that comes with knowledge, urging graduates to use their learning not just for personal advancement but for lifting others as well.

Be unmistakably you
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005 

Prototype your path
“Cross your river one rock at a time, but do it with the naïve optimism that it’s all going to work out.” — Mark Rober, MIT 2023

Expect setbacks
“Making your mark on the world is hard. It takes patience. It comes with plenty of failures.” — Barack Obama, Barnard 2012 

Human judgment beats the algorithm
“You have something that no computer can ever have… critical thinking is your super-power.” — tech journalist Steven Levy, Temple University 2025

Risk-taking as a life skill
“I’ve found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Nothing.”— actor Denzel Washington, University of Pennsylvania, 2011 

Dream audaciously
“When you find the thing you want to do… just friggin’ go for it.” — actor Jennifer Coolidge, Emerson College 2025

Curiosity + action
“Ideas do not belong in your head… Stop waiting. Get the ideas out.” — YouTuber Hank Green, MIT 2025

Integrity & service
“At the end of the day, your integrity is all you have. Guard it carefully.” — Jerome H. Powell, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Princeton University 2025

Finding meaning in life
“A pursuit, if that gets matched with purpose—that’s when your life truly becomes magical.”— Iron Man winner Mark Allen, UC San Diego 2025

What makes commencement so powerful is how it manages to be both deeply personal and completely universal. Every graduate has their own story, yet they are all united by shared accomplishment and shared uncertainty about what comes next.

While the traditions create memorable moments, the real magic lies in what commencement represents: potential realized and potential yet to be fulfilled. The diploma isn't just paper—it's proof that challenges can be overcome. Parents watch their children step forward as independent adults, faculty see their intellectual legacy walking across the stage, and communities celebrate new contributors to civic life.

Years later, graduates often remember surprisingly little about specific ceremony details, but what endures is the feeling—the sense of possibility, the weight of achievement, the excitement about the future. As each new class tosses their caps skyward, they are joining a continuum of human achievement that stretches back centuries.

In the end, commencement is about hope—hope that education leads to wisdom and that each generation will build upon the foundation laid by those before. It's a tradition worth preserving and a beginning worth honoring. 

Here's to the Class of 2025!