Final Exercises is an incredibly large production, complete with balloons and dancing. There is so much joy and celebration happening that it can be easy to miss moments. 

As the graduates processed down the Lawn, I stood near a mother and daughter as they watched for their family member among the graduates. The three of them embraced for a moment, with lots of tears flowing, then brother and sister touched foreheads before he continued in his procession down the Lawn. 

In the middle of so much noise and loud celebration, it was beautiful to witness a family quietly taking in the gravity of what it meant to them for this student to earn his degree.