The University of Oregon celebrated more than 5,500 graduates at a commencement ceremony Monday morning.
A sea of students in green caps and gowns trekked across the footbridge to Autzen Stadium. Friends and loved ones gave them hugs and flowers.
Beth and Doug McGowan travelled from Chicago to watch their daughter get her degree. They told KLCC that four years had gone by too fast.
“I still have the image of this little girl, and all of a sudden now she's graduating. It just pulls at the heartstrings,” said Doug. “And you're proud, but you're also sad because you're seeing different things come to an end. But new things are starting.”
On stage inside the stadium, UO President Karl Scholz, Provost Christopher Long, and Board of Trustees chair Steve Holwerda congratulated the students on their hard work.
This year’s commencement speaker was Marlee Matlin, an Academy Award-winning actress and the parent of a 2026 graduate from UO.
Speaking through a sign-language interpreter, she told graduates to lead with empathy and to get back up when life inevitably pushes them down.
“Courage is applying for the job you're not sure you're going to get,” said Matlin. “Courage is starting over when something isn't working anymore. Courage is asking for help.”
The crowd erupted in cheers as Associated Students of UO President Prissila Moreno delivered her remarks.
“F*** ICE. Free Palestine,” said Moreno. “And for the last time, Class of 2026, student power and solidarity forever and ever.”
Of this year’s graduates, nearly 580 received degrees in business administration, while more than 520 had degrees in journalism or communications.
Prabhuli Kapadia majored in Human Physiology. She said at UO, she had a once-in-a-lifetime experience working with cadavers and creating community with her colleagues.
"For the whole year we were taking the sequence, we were kind of like a family,” said Kapadia. “Because I saw those folks every single day, and we got through those ups and downs together."
The 2026 class is graduating during a time when there are ongoing questions and concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence and automation on the job market. Kapadia said she was a little nervous about AI.
But she said as she looks to pursue health equity and epidemiology, she hopes the technology will be a tool to help workers, not push them out.
“Nothing can really replace the work of a human,” said Kapadia. “There's so many intricacies and human emotion that goes into the work that I do that I feel like it would be impossible for AI to do a better job.”
