June 7 and June 8 marked a special day for many golden hawks – it was time for the 2016 graduation ceremony.

Graduation took place at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, where hundreds of students gathered with their friends and family to celebrate the completion of their degree. Dressed in their graduation regalia, students first headed to the Odeon building to meet up with their classmates and chat for a final few minutes before heading out to the ceremony.

Next stop was the Sanderson Centre where the friends and families of the graduating students waited in anticipation. Jananni Puvanendran, one of the graduating students, described what it felt like to walk across the stage and accept her degree, “Walking across that stage, it goes by quickly, you really don’t get to process four years within those 20 seconds. It’s honestly after, when you go back to your seat and sit down and stare at that paper, that you are able to look back and reflect on everything.”

The closing of the ceremony was marked by the alumni welcome speech given by Scott Lyons. Lyons graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1989 and is currently the president of Extend Communications Inc. – a telephone answering service call centre.
As the graduation ceremony drew to a slow and happy end, William Kearney, a graduating history major, had the following advice for incoming Laurier freshmen:

“Get involved. I wish I had done that more in the beginning and I only really made an effort in my fourth year. As for studies, things will come easier if you work on organising yourself and developing good routines. Stay away from Vegas and please limit your NV exposure.”

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2016. We wish you the best luck as you start a new chapter in your lives.