White, airy clouds stretched over the stark blue sky and made the world look full of opportunity – the gorgeous evening matched perfectly with the palpable optimism of the graduating students.
On Friday students flocked from all over the campus, the city and the state onto the field to line up for the last long walk of their undergraduate experience. Supporters who arrived with their graduates separated to head to the surrounding bleachers as they walked through the entrance to University Stadium.
Lines of caps and gowns wound through the field next to the tennis courts, where students must check in prior to getting in line to be seated. In line, Jiana Barutnek, a Media Arts major, reflected on her time at Chico State.
“I made such amazing friends, and they’ve stuck with me all four years,” Barutnek said. “It just made the experience so amazing.”
For some students, today might even be their first time on campus. For graduate Madysen Howry, it was. Completing her entire degree online, she made the three and a half hour drive from Turlock, a city just outside Modesto.
“The professors made it feel like I was here, so that’s great,” Howry said.
Student athlete Natalie Muse, an exercise physiology major, reflected on multiple highlights in her Chico experience.
“I was on the track team, so I think that made it really special, and also just the people I met here and all the memories I made,” Muse said.
Brian McMahon found the campus environment to be his biggest highlight of his time spent here. He graduated with a communications degree and a minor in cinema studies.
As students began to line up, parents and friends of graduates filed onto the bleachers, which surrounded the stage from every corner. Everyone seemed nervous, excited or both as parents double – even triple checked to make sure their cameras were recording this moment.
Music blared from the speakers as students and staff approached their fold-up chairs. Staggering supporters scrambled to their seats as the music tapered off.
After provost Leslie Cornick opened the ceremony and a performance of the Star Spangled Banner, President Steve Perez took the podium. He highlighted that 3,600 students will be graduating from Chico State this year.
“We’ve had conversations, we’ve disagreed,” he said. But he highlighted that the community continues to work together.
His speech concluded when he welcomed commencement speaker, and former editor-in-chief of The Orion, Ariana Powell, on stage. Powell celebrated her accomplishments and those of her fellow graduates.
“We must always remember to never let voices louder than ours silence us,” Powell said. “Don’t let the opinions of others cause you to lose your truth.”
Once the speech concluded, students began lining up to accept their diplomas. A gentle breeze in the air made the warm weather bearable as the sun’s rays poked through the trees. While in line, students fidgeted with their caps, smoothed their hair over one more time and readjusted their gowns to ease the excitement and anxiousness that accompanies a day like this.
Once graduation concludes, some students are planning to stay in Chico. Rachel Lewis wants to get her teaching credential here, eventually aiming to become an elementary school teacher.
Another graduate, Daniel Chimal, intends to move into the stunt world. Chimal majored in media arts with a minor in theater. He was also the co-president of the Digital Filmmakers Guild, a student organization that trains the next filmmakers of tomorrow.
“It’s wild but exciting that all my hard work has finally led to this,” he said. “It’s a whole new chapter.”
The remaining graduation ceremonies are as follows:
- College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management, College of Agriculture on Friday at 7 p.m.
- College of Behavioral Health and Social Sciences (ceremony 1) on Saturday at 9 a.m.
- College of Behavioral Health and Social Sciences (ceremony 2), College of Business on Saturday at 7 p.m.
- College of Humanities and Fine Arts, College of Natural Sciences on Sunday at 9 a.m.
Marianne Akre and Sean Shanks can be reached at [email protected]
