Graduation Day

Practicing for the class of 2028!!

With gorgeous blue skies & lots of sunshine, today was a beautiful day for LCC's 12th graduation ceremony! As the graduates proceeded out of LCC's main academic building, the DeFehr Center, they are each handed a rose. This was the second year that an LCC staff or faculty married couple was asked to hand the graduates their roses & we were invited to do the honors this year! The graduates then walk toward our multi-purpose building, the Michealsen Center, through a lineup of staff & faculty on the front sidewalk before the ceremony begins.


















Ieva tests the roses before we hand them to the graduates to make sure they smell good!

Beside the typical awarding of diplomas and Lithuanian graduation sashes (hanging around graduates necks in photos), this year the ceremony included a Lithuanian invocation done by our American chaplain Sharon Brubaker - one of the few expatriate LCC employees who is fluent in the language. The commencement address was given by Vytautas Umbrasas (seen in LCC's promotional video), who is the advisor to the President of Lithuania, and who is a big supporter of LCC. Then there was the awarding of diplomas & turning of the tassels, which were followed by very nice thank you speeches to parents, done by Kristina in Lithuanian & Katia in Russian. Another new touch this year was the processional & recessional done by LCC's bell choir, rather than the external brass group that we've hired in years past. And since 2 of the bell choir members were graduating & couldn't play, Andrew was one of staff members asked to step in & play, which was fun for him.













The commencement speaker, Vytautas Umbrasas & his English translator

In Hawaii, graduates recieve laiis from friends & family members. In Lithuania, graduates recieve flowers. As you'll notice in the photos, some of our graduates have gorgeous boquets in their arms that continue to grow as they are greeted by family, friends & LCC staff & faculty.















Celebrating with Fabian from Albania

















With Agata from Latvia and her fiance, Dan















With Viktorija from Klaipeda

Aside from the festivities, Ieva was also quite a hit today, as she charmed everyone with her sweet smile & innocent curiosity that kept her running throughout the swarms of black gowns & flowers.


















Our colleague Natalija giving Ieva a rose