More than 400 students participated in five cultural achievement ceremonies hosted by the Cultural Community Centers and the Office for Inclusion and Diversity at spring commencement.

The cultural achievement ceremonies – Donning of the Kente, Gesta Latina, and the Lavender, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American, and Native/Indigenous achievement ceremonies – bring together all graduating seniors and graduate students who wish to participate as well as their family, friends, community members, and alumni to celebrate unique cultural and experiential backgrounds in the context of commencement.

Participating students are given stoles, certificates, cords, and pins associated with the respective center or alumni society they are now eligible to join. Food is provided at a reception following each ceremony.

A young student poses with their hand on their hip and smiling into the camera, wearing the Kente stole and a doctoral cap.
A doctoral student poses at the spring 2024 Donning of the Kente ceremony. Photo by Danny Robertson for Virginia Tech.
The front row of students participants in Gesta Latina, all wearing the associated colorful stole and looking up at the speaker on the stage.
Students listen to a speaker after being stoled at the Gesta Latina spring 2024 ceremony. Photo by Danny Robertson for Virginia Tech.
A young student in hijab and wearing multiple cords and stoles looks at someone off-screen, smiling softly.
A hijabi student converses with family and peers at the reception for the spring 2024 APIDA Achievement Ceremony. Photo by Danny Robertson for Virginia Tech.
A young student leans on a walker while waving out into the crowd from the stage as they participate in the Lavender Achievement Ceremony. Two people stand off to the left, smiling.
A student uses a walker while crossing the stage during the spring 2024 Lavender Achievement Ceremony. Photo by Danny Robertson for Virginia Tech.

Melissa Faircloth, director for the Ati: Wa:Oki Indigenous Community Center, said the cultural achievement ceremonies play a significant role in students’ graduation experience — and align with other commencement celebrations on campus.

“Any kind of ceremony is rooted in both tradition and culture,” Faircloth said. “In institutions based primarily in Western culture, which historically have not served underrepresented individuals, I think it’s essential that we weave aspects of these cultures and traditions into our students’ important milestones, including commencement.”

To Veronica Montes, director for El Centro, Virginia Tech’s Hispanic and Latinx Cultural Center, combining cultural experiences with commencement has profound effects on graduates and those attending to celebrate them.

“Incorporating cultural elements into this ceremony acknowledges the various, unique paths students have taken to reach this milestone and honors the cultural values that have guided them along the way,” Montes said. “It validates the multifaceted identities of our students and their families, fosters a sense of belonging, and promotes inclusivity.”

These ceremonies can be a full circle moment for students who have long-standing relationships with the Cultural Community Centers (CCCs) and their directors.

“Many of the students who attend these ceremonies have been affiliated with the CCCs over a long period of time,” said Nina Ha, director for the APIDA+ Center. “I have witnessed students' transformations from when they first started coming to the center, sometimes as first-year students, to when they graduate years later.”

Nearly all the ceremonies saw an increase in student participation over spring 2023. Only the Lavender Achievement Ceremony saw a slight decrease over previous years.

Bing Bingham, director for the Pride Center, was not surprised to see this decrease.

“This is to be expected given the vulnerability of being associated with queerness during this time,” Bing said. “As long as we live in a world where queerness and transness are being targeted by those in power, spaces like the Lavender Achievement Ceremony are necessary to ensure that students are given the space to dress in a way that are congruent with their identity, surrounded by a community that loves and accepts them, and allowed to bring their full selves including loved ones to celebrate with them.”

Family, friends, Virginia Tech faculty and staff, community members, and alumni rallied to celebrate students at the cultural achievement ceremonies. Ha was able to connect with some of these loved ones — as well as visit with returning alumni.

“What is quite touching for me was being able to interact with the families and friends who came out to celebrate the graduating students,” Ha said. “More and more alumni also come back each year to celebrate with those who are graduating. It is heartwarming to reconnect with these alumni as we all enjoy the celebration for the new graduating students.”

Kimberly Clark, director for the Black Cultural Center, hopes students leave their cultural achievement ceremonies feeling not only celebrated but encouraged as they move into the next phase of their lives. Tanya Rogers, the Black Cultural Center’s assistant director, concurred, emphasizing the power of celebrating students’ cultural and experiential backgrounds as they walk the stage and become Hokie alumni.

“Being at an event which not only recognizes [our students] but also celebrates their specific community is very empowering and a beautiful way to round out their journey here at Virginia Tech,” Rogers said. “I hope that the students walk away feeling loved, celebrated, and embraced by their campus, recognized and appreciated for who they are.”

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