With graduation around the corner, students got the opportunity to be creative and decorate their caps in the Student Union on Tuesday.
The Cesar Chavez Community Action Center hosted the event, providing supplies for all students graduating in May.
Political science senior Rachel Velez attended the event to accessorize her cap in honor of her family in Mexico.
“For those who couldn't celebrate being first gen and being the first in my family to graduate college,” Velez said.
She said she wanted to find a way to pay homage to her mom’s South American heritage.
“And they have these boats throughout the city, because there are canals there. So I wanted to incorporate that into my grad cap and have that there and like a sunset in the background,” she said.
Chicano studies senior Yoselin Hernandez said she’s preparing to celebrate two ceremonies the same week of graduation.
“I'm actually in the EOP program on campus, so it's going to be a ceremony for that,” she said. “I'm going to be part of Chicano commencement, which is going to be the Monday I have that same week of my actual department graduation.”
The Education Opportunity Program helps first generation, low income and disadvantaged students finish school and prepare them for their futures.
The design Hernandez went for on her cap was writing something special to her parents.
“I'm actually doing like a small message to my parents and to my family and really close ones. A really long message just kind of appreciating them and saying, ‘Thank you,’ ” she said.
As students poured time into decorating their caps, a few were stuck trying to figure out what design they wanted for their own.
Sociology senior Vanessa Sepulveda said she didn’t come into the event with an idea of what she wanted to put on her cap.
Though Sepulveda was having trouble discovering what she wanted to do, she ended up finding a symbol that means the world to her.
“I'm thinking of doing something like the women's international symbol. I think it's sometimes hard, like as women, we don't really get recognized,” she said. “So being an educated Latina woman, it's a lot so I was just like, you know, why not show it off?”
While some students get ready to conclude their academic journey, others prepare to walk across the stage and back into the classroom.
Sociology senior Victoria Mendez said she applied to graduate school, but is terrified of how it’s going to be.
“I thought that I was done, like I told myself I'm done. Just get your bachelor's and you're done, but I kind of want to keep going,” she said.
