"It's a spectacular day for a graduation," said Cornell trustee Donald Opatrny '74, who was marching with his daughter, Gillian, from the Arts Quad to Schoellkopf Stadium for the 140th Cornell Commencement ceremony this morning, May 25. Gillian was about to receive her bachelor's degree in sociology, becoming the fourth generation of her family to receive a Cornell degree. "I'm having a lot of mixed feelings. It's so overwhelming," said Gillian, echoing the feelings of the 6,000 graduates around her also about to receive their degrees.

The voices across the Arts Quad spoke of hard work, a time for growing and learning, and already a feeling of nostalgia sweeping over them. For an ebullient Johnamarie Macias, en route to her bachelor's degree in archaeology, her time at Cornell had culminated in "a surreal experience here, right now. Four years ago, I couldn't imagine myself here. I mean, I did, but this goal was too far away then. It's been a journey to accomplish everything, all the work I put into it. I'm the first generation to receive a bachelor's degree in the family."

Macias, who grew up in the Bronx, has a mother from Puerto Rico and a father from Ecuador, both present for the ceremony. She was drawn to archaeology as a child. "I just love the dirt and studying the past," said Macias. After taking a year off, she plans to pursue a master's degree in preservation.

As symbol bearer for Ph.D. degree recipients, Maryann Borsick Herman stood at the head of the procession of all 2008 Cornell graduates. As she waited to step off, she reflected on her four-and-a-half-year journey to a doctorate in plant pathology.

"It's been hard but fun, too," she said, noting that she completed two years of course work on the Ithaca campus and the rest at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y. In the fall, she begins an assistant professorship at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y.

A few rows behind her in the Ph.D. line were stepmother and stepdaughter Lynne Byall Benson (education) and Caetlin Benson-Allott (English). The timing was coincidental; Byall Benson had completed her coursework and exams when she moved to Boston and took time off from the program to teach high school.

"It's been a long haul," said Byall Benson, who wrote two dissertations for her degree, "and I'm really glad to be getting down to the short strokes, as they say." Interposed her stepdaughter: "She is the embodiment of graduate tenacity. She's earned it."

Benson will look for a job in higher education administration in Boston and Benson-Allott will begin an assistant professorship at the University of California-Santa Cruz.

Jeff and Margaret Jacobs traveled to Ithaca from California for the graduation of their son, Ryan, who was about to receive his B.S. in mechanical engineering. "At the end of the first year, I said to Ryan, 'Are you going back?'" Margaret Jacobs recalled. "Kids change colleges often. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, 'Of course I'm going back.'" Ryan Jacobs will begin a job with General Electric in Boston.

Declared film major Sungyun Gim, about to receive his B.A.: "I can't believe I survived! There have been a bunch of highs and lows, personally and academically. I felt well prepared with a balance of production and liberal arts courses. I've made a documentary, narrative, all types -- I love all film. I'm going to L.A. to try to make films. I'm just going to go for it," he said.

Kaj Gittings, about to receive a Ph.D. in economics after six years at Cornell, said, "It's a long road to get here, but in the end it's about sacrificing for the future." Gittings will be an assistant professor of economics at Louisiana State University in the fall. "You give up a little bit now for the reward that comes in the end. I'm real excited about going to LSU, that's for sure."

As the procession began to leave the Arts Quad, Alex Aidun, an information science, systems and technology major in the College of Engineering whose road to a B.S. was eventful, struck a philosophical note: "People at Cornell know they want something. That's the difference between everybody else and people at Cornell. Halfway through, I realized that if I didn't have the desire, I wasn't going to excel."

"It's a great day," said Aidun's mother, Susan. "We're very happy." Chris Aidun said of his son, "What a surprise. What was the surprise? That he made it. He's an engineer. It was really hard, and we're incredibly proud of him."