The richness of the University of Michigan's culturally diverse student body was on full display during graduation week and highlighted by a number of graduation celebrations.
The celebrations supplement the traditional U-M graduation and express an appreciation for the achievements, commonalities, and cultural differences that characterize the experiences of Middle Eastern/North African, African American, Latinx, Asian and Native students. Special celebrations were also held for first-generation, undocumented and LGBTQ+ students.
As the fastest growing ethnicity on campus — moving from 5.5 percent of the undergraduate student body in 2015-16 to 6.8 percent in 2017-18 — the Latinx community is gaining momentum and has contributed to an increase in the number of underrepresented minorities in the 2019 freshman class.
La Celebración Latina celebrates the U-M’s Latino/a graduates at the conclusion of each academic year. During La Celeb, the cultural significance of the Latino/a community is recognized, along with students’ achievements, while providing incentive to future students to reach the ultimate goal of graduation.
U-M held the second annual Asian/Pacific Islander Graduation Ceremony. The celebration honors graduates in an intimate space for students to celebrate commencement with family and friends while also acknowledging AAPI heritage and cultural traditions.
“Planning the API Graduation Ceremony has been about forging a culturally inclusive celebration — one that allows our community to gather in a collective space to honor our hard-earned degrees while seeing how beautiful and unimaginably diverse the Asian/Pacific Islander student experience is.” Danny Park, success coach and API Graduation program coordinator for the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives.
First Generation Graduation
Thousands of students at UM are among the first generation in their family to attend college. In the fall of 2007, a small team of undergraduates created a student organization called First-Generation College Students@Michigan. A major goal was to offer students advice on a variety of resources/campus opportunities and provide outreach to current and future First-Generation students.
Graduates who participated in the ceremony for first-generation students shared their plans for the next step on their respective journeys.
The 25th annual Black Celebratory ceremony took place on Saturday celebrating African and African American students who through unyielding determination have successfully completed their undergraduate or graduate studies at U-M.
The celebration was keynoted by Lt. Governor Garland Gilchrist. Gilchrist, a U-M alum, studied computer science and worked as a software engineer at Microsoft. He previously served as director of the university's Center for Social Media Responsibility.
"As I looked out over the @UMich graduates, I couldn’t help but feel reassured that they will be the change we need in the world." Lt. Governor Garland Gilchrist
Our Story, Our Legacy
Undocumented Graduation Celebration
Graduating with a degree in public policy, student leader and activist, Yvonne Navarrete spoke during the university's collective graduation ceremony. During her years at UM, Navarrete was a part of the group that founded La Casa and also was also an active member of the Student Community of Progressive Empowerment, an organization that strives to support and serve the campus’ undocumented and “DACAmented” students.
"The lessons I’ve learned from mi Mamá y Papá, Detroit and U-M empowered me to boldly confront fear with courage.” Yvonne Navarrete
Navarrete and her peers' accomplishment of graduating is significant. According to the report “Young Lives on Hold: The College Dreams of Undocumented Students,” approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools every year, and just 5-10 percent of them enroll in college.
Middle Eastern/North African Student Celebration
Dedicated to the various students on campus with origins spanning across Morocco to Iran and more, the Middle Eastern/North African Student Celebration highlighted the vast socio-political, religious, linguistic, customs and cultures of the MENA region.
A number of ME/NA students on U-M's campus have worked consistently to evaluate the educational and co-curricular experiences of Muslim and Arab students, from the #WeExist campaign to the expansion of Arab Xpressions. This school year, U-M also saw the addition of the first Arab sorority, Epsilon Alpha Sigma and fraternity Omega Beta Eta to campus.
Hosted by the Spectrum Center, the annual Lavender Graduation, also referred to as LavGrad, is a celebration to honor LGBTQ+ graduates of the University of Michigan. Established by Ronni Sanlo in 1995, U-M was the first commemorative event of its kind celebrated at an institution of higher learning.
"I felt so proud to be at this graduation and they even read out loud the knock-knock joke I made up when I walked!" Kaitlynn Rodriguez.
UM-Ann Arbor resides on the traditional Territories of the Three Fires Peoples - the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi.
