Throughout life, individuals celebrate the achievements that where they have done something important to them. At WSU, one of these celebrations is the LatinX Grad Ceremony, LGC.

LGC is a ceremony that brings families to a more intimate environment for the celebration of a loved one’s success. In the Hispanic culture, it is common for the individual to bring honor to the family whether it is through their occupation, personal life or education.

Each student attending this ceremony has the opportunity to look back at what they have completed throughout their college experience and feel proud of all the hard work. LGC has set their date for April 10, welcoming all who would like to participate.

According to the LGC ceremony, their mission statement is:

“The LatinX Grad Ceremony is an intimate celebration that honors the achievements of graduating students who identify as LatinX/Hispanics. The ceremony also honors families, friends, and those who have supported them through their academic journey. The graduation celebration was created by students for students with the intention of bringing awareness to their own stories.”

The ceremony begins with a dinner at 5:30 p.m., which will bring university community together. The ceremony officially begins at 6:30, where students will receive a customized stole and certificate.

President Brad Mortensen also participated in the inaugural event in 2019, wearing the stole given to him at the ceremony to the commencement in front of all WSU graduates, families and faculty.

“It was beyond anything I imagined,” Mortensen said. “It was so powerful to be able to have a program that our graduates and families could connect to.”

Mortensen added how he could feel the pride from the families in the ceremony. He hopes the word gets out and more students become involved in this more intimate graduation ceremony.

Mortensen hopes programs like this inspire students to believe they can reach their aspirations.

“We all have our own identities, some of which are shaped by our skin color or our ethnicities, and it’s impossible for me to understand somebody else’s journey,” Mortensen said.

Mortensen said any group is worth celebrating their unique culture, background and journey. Some of his most enriching experiences at WSU have been where he was involved with participating and experiencing someone else’s culture or identity.

“The world is a diverse place and we can all go into our camps and think about ourselves, or we can try and understand each other and see how we can work together,” Mortensen said.