Mortar boards are out, black graduation robes have been worn and the parents are beaming. After a two-year hiatus, graduation ceremonies are back on campus as Ivy League colleges and other prestigious institutions in the US honour students of batches 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Many Indian CEOs were spotted at the graduation ceremonies with their spouses and families this year, as if to make up for the lost time. Indian and Chinese parents had the highest turnout, said an attending parent.
Uday Kotak, managing director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, was at Columbia Business School for the graduation of his younger son Dhawal. He later tweeted that it was a "father's proud moment".
Similarly, Sulajja Firodia Motwani, chief executive of electric two- and three-wheeler maker Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions, attended her son's graduation in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). "For me, it was reconnecting with the alumni ...almost felt like I was coming back home. We walked around the campus, soaking in Pittsburgh," said Motwani, who was a student at CMU in the late 1990s. "Now, with my son passing out, we will not be coming back here so often," she said.
Amit Bhatia, founder of Aspire Impact, a social enterprise in impact leadership, was at New York University (NYU) to attend his daughter Aadya's graduation. He said he was having "a happy second life through kids... honoured to see her carry the banner into the stadium and share the platform with academic giants".
Many parents were meeting their children after more than two years and were hoping that a fresh Covid-19 wave does not play spoilsport this time. Some CEOs said they were unable to attend the graduation ceremony due to the lack of visa interview dates. There is a massive backlog, with a waiting period of two-three months in bigger metros such as Delhi and Mumbai, said a parent who eventually watched the ceremony in a virtual setting to celebrate the achievement of his child.
Ravi Bhatia, president of consultancy firm Jato Dynamics, was meeting his son after two years as he graduated from Carnegie Mellon. "After the graduation ceremony and a family vacation, we settled him in Boston where he has taken up a job," said Bhatia.
Most parents who attended the ceremony followed it up with extended family visits and sightseeing in the US "so that we could be together for some more time", said another attending parent.
Columbia University, CMU, NYU and many others are done with their graduation ceremonies, while Harvard University will have it on May 25 and a few others will have their graduation ceremonies through the first week of July.
The institutions did their part to keep the attending parents entertained and occupied. While there were plenty of graduation-related events, parents were encouraged to take tours around the college campus, try out the local food and do some sightseeing. The institutions also arranged parties for the graduating students and parents, as well as interactive sessions with the professors, which the parents enjoyed, said those who attended the events.
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