Final Exercises2024
Final Exercises 2024
With leaden clouds above and a muddy Lawn below, graduates from the remaining nine University of Virginia schools received their degrees Sunday in a wave of balloons and exuberance that, for most, capped a four-year college career that taught them unexpected lessons in resilience and community.
Just over 3,600 graduates strolled the Lawn Sunday from the School of Architecture, the McIntire School of Commerce, the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, the Darden School of Business, the School of Data Science, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Law, the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing.
The Sunday commencement came a day after roughly 4,000 graduates from the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the School of Education and Human Development made the same trek, sometimes through drizzle, but thankfully hours after storms soaked Grounds.
For much of Friday night and Saturday morning, University emergency planners fretted over whether the Saturday event could take place on the Lawn – a celebrated UVA tradition – but the worst of the foul weather passed just in time. On Sunday, only rainless clouds still hung around.
President Jim Ryan acknowledged that the past four years have been challenging ones for this class. They began classes online because of the pandemic, they lost three classmates in a 2022 shooting on Grounds, and the ongoing violence in the Middle East have led to some tensions among students.
“I also hope and trust that you will remember the moments of joy as well as the challenges, and that you will take from both that there is much joy to be found in this life and that you can do hard things, because you have already done hard things,” Ryan said. “You are leaving this community stronger than you found it, and I have no doubt that you will make the world beyond UVA a better place.”
Dozens of the students who beamed smiles on the way to their seats said their UVA experience was unmatched. It has given them a world-class education, boundary-pushing experiences and lifelong friendships.
When one student asked what advice he’d offer potential future Wahoos, the answer was simple: “Go here.” Another chimed in behind him, shouting, “Wahoowa!”
On this page, you’ll find the full story of the Class of 2024.
Stay Connected.
Sunday
Saturday
Valediction
Meet the Class
What’s Next for the Class of ’24 Wahoos
Video:What’s Next for the Class of ’24 Wahoos
What’s Next for the Class of ’24 Wahoos
Looking Back
Graduates Realize a Dream Delayed
Video:Graduates Realize a Dream Delayed
Graduates Realize a Dream Delayed
Video: Welcome, UVA Class of 2024
Video:Video: Welcome, UVA Class of 2024
Video: Welcome, UVA Class of 2024
Media Contact
Article Information
November 21, 2024
