During the last four years, students have been growing and learning how to become adults all while facing the challenges of living through a global pandemic.  The new graduates of 2022 have faced obstacles like no other students have faced in recent times.  Graduating from university is a huge milestone in one’s life and should not be taken for granted.  This is a time to celebrate, and a time to be proud of yourself for all the accomplishments you have achieved.   

Every year, friends, and family travel near and far to see their loved ones walk across the big stage and receive their diplomas.  Parties honoring the graduates with cheer and festivities abound the spring season as graduation is a special memory that will be cherished forever.  Here are a few ways people around the world celebrate their favorite student’s rite of passage. 

China 

In China, students live in a dormitory with the same 7 individuals for all four years of their college career.  As you could imagine, the students go through many hardships with each other and often, end up becoming life-long friends.  Since students often go to universities thousands of miles away from their homes, it is rare that parents attend their child’s graduation.  Instead, Chinese students pay special attention to their new families and their roommates.  Students spend the entire week of graduation eating together, shopping, having parties, and saying goodbye as they leave the ones, they held dear to their hearts for the last four years and venture out into the world.  Wearing a cap and gown in China is not common however many female graduates have taken to wearing a traditional white wedding dress common in the west to their graduation which makes for an interesting sight to behold.  

Japan 

The Japanese culture is very rigid and has a long history of structure and hierarchy.  Accordingly, uniforms are an integral part of Japanese culture.  After graduating from college, it is common for students to exchange their school uniforms with their best friends as a way of remembering their times together and to show how important they were to one another.  Many students today are opting to wear traditional Japanese school uniforms from the Meiji (1868 to 1912).  Japanese schools dismiss for the year in March, just in time for the cherry blossoms to be in bloom providing a stunning backdrop for those precious graduation photographs.  

The United States of America 

The ubiquitous college graduation scenario that most people around the world know is that of the USA.  Large crowds of boisterous families and friends all cheering as their loved ones receive their diploma is a staple of any Hollywood teen movie.  Since most colleges in the US are quite large, graduations tend to be held in giant sports arenas making the experience even more surreal.  Jumbo screens, music, and announcers calling the students names as they walk across the stage add to the climatic ending when the president of the university announces the students as graduated and they tear off their caps and toss them into the air in jubilant pride. 

American International University will hold its first graduation on Saturday, May 28, 2022.  This will make for a very special day for all of those in attendance.  Here is to wishing success to all our graduates.  Congratulations!