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Cloudy Skies, Bright Smiles: Commencement 2025 in Photos

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As precipitation fell (and occasionally poured), the University celebrated its 157th graduation with pride, joy—and rain ponchos

By Beth Saulnier

On Memorial Day Weekend, more than 8,000 Big Red undergrads and grad students became alumni, as East Hill hosted the annual Commencement festivities. The overcast skies and often rainy weather couldn't dim the spirits of the graduates and their proud families and friends, who'd traveled to Ithaca from around the country and the world to mark their accomplishments.

Despite the lapse in Cornell's typical meteorological good fortune around Commencement—clearly, the folks who man the fabled "Big Red weather machine" in Bradfield Hall had fallen down on the job—events went on as planned. As in recent years, Schoellkopf hosted two identical ceremonies (one in the morning, the other in the afternoon), with graduates attending according to their school or college.

As in recent years, Schoellkopf hosted two identical ceremonies (one in the morning, the other in the afternoon), with graduates attending according to their school or college.

Festivities kicked off Thursday with Convocation in Barton Hall, where the senior class's invited speaker was Misty Copeland—the first Black woman to be named principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre.

“Success is not the opposite of struggle. It includes struggle,” Copeland told the graduates. “Every person who’s ever done something meaningful has had to endure moments of pain, confusion, loneliness, and resistance. So, when those big moments come—when you’re recognized, when your work is seen, when people start calling your name—don’t forget how you got there. Don’t let the spotlight erase your history. Let it illuminate it.”

Friday's events included the ROTC commissioning ceremony in Statler Auditorium, and a special celebration in Barton Hall recognizing those earning a PhD.

Don’t let the spotlight erase your history. Let it illuminate it.
Convocation speaker Misty Copeland

On Saturday, the festivities moved to Schoellkopf. And where 2024's heat and blazing sun had prompted the distribution of paper fans, this year had volunteers handing out clear plastic ponchos, which grateful attendees used to shield themselves from the elements.

Damp and chilly as they may have been, though, the graduates and their supporters lit up the stadium with their enthusiasm and pride.

"Your time as a Cornell student is now over. Your lives as Cornell alumni are about to begin," President Mike Kotlikoff told the grads in his address.

"At Cornell, I hope you’ve learned to value discussion and debate, to evaluate arguments on their merits, to consider evidence and make decisions based on facts. You’ve learned, as well, why civil discourse matters: what we ourselves lose when we shut other voices down. And what I ask of all of you, in the years and decades ahead, is to use what you have learned here wisely and well."

Scroll down for a photographic tour of Commencement 2025—and share memories of your own graduation in the comments!