UCF honor LGBTQ students with Lavender Graduation

(Photo by Ezri Ruiz)

Fast food runs, endless all-nighters at the library and tipsy, late-night walks around campus, that’s what your senior year of college should look like. The class of 2020 and 2021 experienced something completely different. A year that should have been focused on growth, celebration, community and passion has been turned into a constant state of isolation.

As the initial shock of the pandemic has settled in and we’ve adapted to a new digital world, it’s become standard that huge milestones will either be quietly celebrated or postponed. The Multicultural Student Center and LGBTQ+ Services at the University of Central Florida refused to let the sacrifices and accomplishments of the LGBTQ graduating class of 2021 pass by quietly.

The two UCF agencies have partnered up for the ninth year to celebrate queer graduates in their in-person and COVID conscious Lavender Graduation ceremony. The first Lavender Graduation ceremony was introduced at the University of Michigan in 1995 by Ronni Sanlo, the director of the LGBT Campus Resource Center. Lavender Graduation was first introduced at UCF in 2012 as a way to honor and recognize not only LGBTQ student’s academic strides but to celebrate their overcoming of societal pressures and norms, and their success in navigating the college experience as a queer student. 

This small and intimate graduation ceremony celebrated a wide variety of young professionals, ranging from undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students entering fields from the arts to mental health to engineering and beyond. 

Lavender Graduation invites participants to reflect on the significance of the colors in the pride flag, with each speaker focusing on a different color, it’s meaning and it’s personal importance. A centerpiece jar was filled with sand in a coordinating pride color, which displayed a bright rainbow after every speaker had gone. 

The event commenced with MSC Pride Director Zack Baker, who set the tone with an empowering speech highlighting our strides as a community to live our truest selves.  “That’s what being queer is all about, living authentically,” said Baker. 

Other speakers included SGA Office Manager Jax Rogero, who has been a leader in trans and non-binary visibility at UCF. They spoke on overcoming difficulties and celebrating not just scholastic accomplishments, but everything that has led to this moment. “You have beaten so many odds and statistics to get here, I am so proud to see you live,” said Rogero. 

The One Orlando Alliance made their first appearance at a Lavender Graduation with a moving speech by executive director, Josh Bell, who spoke on the significance of the colors blue and purple in the pride flag as they related to healing, growth, and the rich history of the LGBTQ community. Bell also wrote the Class of 2021 a letter, as a way to bring home the sentiments and pride of Lavender Graduation. 

Lavender Graduation not only provided a space to celebrate, but an unexpected Alliance Mentoring Program reunion. The Alliance Mentoring Program is designed to connect UCF students who identify within the LGBTQ community with an LGBTQ faculty or staff mentor. Mentors watched with pride as their mentees received their lavender stoles and had their college accomplishments and awards read out loud. 

Administrative Coordinator and AMP mentor Melissa Gillis was tasked with passing the stoles to students. “[It’s] my most favorite event of the year!” said Gillis. “I’m honored to be part of the reading of the names and giving of stoles this year.” In a touching moment, Gillis was able to present her own mentee, Kristen Rodriguez, with the symbolic lavender stole.

In a Facebook post, Gillis said “My AMP mentee and prior SA Kristen is graduating! I couldn’t be prouder of her! […] I love you Kristen!”

With every speaker, themes of healing and hope filled the room. As bittersweet tears formed in his eyes, LGBTQ+ Services Coordinator Michael Nunes, closed the ceremony by sharing an antidote about weathering the storm that is the pandemic “there can’t be a rainbow without rain,” said Nunes. 

For over a year now, most of the UCF college experience has been a virtual one. The intangibilities of the world as of late has made it difficult to feel the true weight of an accomplishment such as graduation. “It can be hard to feel like things are moving forward when all your progress and achievements are happening in the same spot in front of your computer,” said Miro Colcha, a lavender graduate receiving their masters in clinical mental health counseling, “to be able to be in person around others, set at a specific time and place, for the purpose of celebrating this moment, that’s what made me aware I’m moving on from UCF.” The dedication and care of the LGBTQ+ leaders at UCF provided students one last opportunity to make a cherished college memory. “Lavender graduate definitely gave me a sense of fulfilment and celebration,” said Colcha. 

With vaccines rates going up, the gaps in the clouds begin to broaden and the world gets a little brighter. While the storm has not yet passed, the colors of the rainbow have never looked more vibrant than they did that Thursday afternoon.

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