I attended my friend’s graduation ceremony last Friday. She was an international student from China whose parents were unfortunately not able to attend due to China’s strict quarantine rules. (Returning to China from the United States would be extremely difficult due to the rules of quarantining for a month.) Therefore, I offered to go in their stead and was able to attend the Class of 2022’s graduation class. The ceremony was rather exciting but it was hectic. Falling on Friday the 13th some people were a little superstitious and worried about any bad luck for the day.
We began the trek from Wollaston to the historical Fenway Park on one of the hottest weekends I’ve ever experienced during my time here in Boston. After arriving outside Fenway park, the crowd of parents and graduates rushed around trying to find the proper gate to enter. I asked a worker at one of the stations for directions, which I received along with the bad news of how flowers were not allowed into the park “because of the field.” My heart sunk and I realized I had to either throw out the bouquet or make the trek back to Speare Hall in the blazing heat. Dejected, I decided to walk back but saw a worker stationed at a parking booth and a lightbulb lit up in my head. I ran over and asked if it was ok that I leave the flowers here for a couple of hours and he generously said “sure no problem.”
Knowing that that problem was solved, I quickly ran to Gate A and proceed to wait in line, and went inside. Inside the ballpark, the smell of hotdogs and chicken tenders flowed through the air and I went and sat in an area with plenty of shade. The ceremony began with the graduates coming in followed by the faculty. A video of President Aoun in a VR headset was played that tied in with his speech to the graduating class followed by several other speeches. The CEO and founder of Chobani came up to deliver his commencement address which was a huge hit with the new graduates as they started chanting “Chobani” as he finished his speech.
As we reached the finale Northeastern’s acapella group broke out in song as fireworks lit up the sky above Fenway Park. The audience members participated in a coordinated card stunt that spelled out “CONGRATS NU 2022” in red, white, and black cards. The mood was joyous as people lined to take their selfies with Paws, President Aoun, the Red Sox mascot, and friends. Overall it was a memorable ceremony and we wish the graduates the best of luck on the next chapter of their journey!
