Indiana University Bloomington will host a record breaking 196th Commencement this weekend.
IU reported 11,019 graduate and undergraduate students will receive degrees, making up about half of all IU degrees awarded across the state. The graduate students’ ceremony started at 3 p.m. Friday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The undergraduate ceremony begins at 8 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
IU President Pamela Whitten congratulated more than 2,700 students who earned advanced degrees Friday. She said they will all be IU Hoosiers for life.
“Exciting opportunities and promising futures await each and every one of you,” she said. “As you embark on in the next chapter of your journey, you bond with your IU family and this university will endure.”
IU said graduates represent all of Indiana’s 92 counties, as well as all 50 states and 133 countries. The youngest graduate is 18 while the oldest is 73.
The university has more than 790,000 alumni around the world.
Read more: Father-daughter duo graduate IU together
Graduate student speaker Mohammad Nasir Moradi earned a Master of Science from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. Moradi, originally from Afghanistan, told his story of overcoming challenges after a Taliban takeover, becoming a refugee and finding resilience after a life-changing scholarship.
“Today, we are not just graduates,” he said. “We are proof that the strength grows through adversity, that compassion sparks change, and that even in the darkest times, we can be the light for ourselves and others go forward with pride and purpose.”
On Saturday, Drew Kimble, a Kelley School of Business graduate, will deliver the student address.
Read more: Indiana University graduation student speaker shares his story
Tony award-winning producer and IU alum Harriet Newman Leve was awarded an honorary degree.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright .
