Traditions help UTSA graduates stand out at Commencement

This UTSA graduate is sporting a heavily decorated mortarboard and a first generation stole as she crosses the stage at Commencement.

MAY 9, 2024 — Thousands of graduating Roadrunners celebrate earning their degrees each May and December by participating in special traditions tied to the momentous occasion.

UTSA’s Commencement ceremonies will return to the Alamodome on Friday, May 17. Graduates of the College of Education and Human Development, the College for Health, Community and Policy, the College of Sciences and University College will cross the stage during the 10 a.m. ceremony. Graduates of the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, the College of Liberal and Fine Arts and the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design will receive their degrees at the 4:30 p.m. ceremony.

Scheduled at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, graduating doctoral students will participate in the doctoral hooding ceremony. At this memorable celebration, each UTSA graduate will be introduced one-by-one, to cross the stage and accept their Ph.D. degree. While on stage, a faculty member or advisor will drape the doctoral hood over the graduate’s head and rest it on their shoulders in front of a community of family members and friends. This year’s celebration will be held at the Arts Building Recital Hall on the Main Campus.

There are many traditions involving the accessories students wear at Commencement. The stoles and cords draped over students’ shoulders have special meanings. Stoles, the colored sashes that students wear draped around their necks, represent involvement in various activities at UTSA. For example, student-athletes and Honors College students receive special stoles to wear.

UTSA student-athletes, such as these four ladies, receive special orange stoles to wear at Commencement.

Many first-generation graduates will wear first-gen stoles they have either purchased or made. Students can also purchase a Stole of Gratitude, which they can present after their Commencement ceremony as a show of gratitude to someone whose support helped the student reach the milestone of earning a degree at UTSA.

Commencement cords — ropes draped over the gowns, often with tassels on each end — also have special meanings. Gold honors cords are given to cum laude (grade point average of 3.50 to 3.74), magna cum laude (GPA of 3.75 to 3.89) and summa cum laude (GPA of 3.90 to 4.00) graduates. Students who have served on active duty in the military are eligible to wear red, white and blue Veterans Honors cords.

There are also traditions related to the caps students wear for graduation. Undergraduates wear the tassel on the right side of the mortarboard until they’re instructed to move them to the left side. Master’s and doctoral students always keep their tassels to the left.

Graduates earning degrees in construction science and management wear orange hard hats during Commencement festivities.

Over the years, guests have taken note of the many brightly decorated mortarboards that students wear. UTSA students have embraced the tradition of sprucing up their mortarboards with individualized art and special messages to help them stand out in the crowd on the day of Commencement.

One group of students who will certainly be sporting attention-grabbing headwear are those getting degrees in construction science and management. Their special orange hard hats are hard to miss. Be on the lookout for orange feet as well. Students who served as Rowdy the Roadrunner during their time at UTSA get to flaunt the mascot’s feet during graduation celebrations, where their faces are revealed for the first time.

At the end of each UTSA Commencement ceremony, Mariachi Los Paisanos sends the crowd home happy with an exhilirating performance.

In a tradition unique to only UTSA, many graduates will be wearing class rings that have spent a night in the historic Alamo. The university began this tradition in 2012. Each semester, UTSA Alumni Association staff packs the rings in a secure box and takes them to the world-famous landmark, where they spend a night before the official ring ceremony. This tradition has connected thousands of UTSA graduates to the history of San Antonio before they embarked on their professional journeys.

And, of course, no UTSA Commencement ceremony would be complete without a grand finale by Mariachi Los Paisanos. Since UTSA’s very first graduation celebration in May 1976, mariachis have performed to help give the proceedings a celebratory feel that’s puro San Antonio. Since 2013, pyrotechnics and streamers have been added to the showstopping Commencement coda.

— Shea Conner