The ceremony began, and we listened to heartfelt speeches from the student-body president and other representatives.
The commencement speaker, however, left something to be desired. While the students looked around, bewildered by the meandering speech, I began to feel the heat and noticed how long I had been sitting in the sun.
Finally, the school chancellor quickly acknowledged the undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students in the audience, inviting us to move our cap tassels from the right side to the left.