BUFFALO, N.Y. — Commencement ceremonies were held Saturday all across the region.
It's a moment many students look forward to after years of hard work.
2023 is the first year, students are graduating with a degree that reads Buffalo State University. The 151st commencement was held in the sports arena on the Elmwood Avenue campus.
Stacy Lewis Beauford, president of the Buffalo State alumni association, told graduates, "while your time as a student here has ended, this is not goodbye. You are still, each and everyone of you, valued members of the Buffalo state community."
Over at the Koessler Center on Main street, it was Canisius College President Stoute's first commencement.
Michael Kochczynski, president of the Canisius College alumni association, used the rain to make a point in his address to the graduates.
"Outside today it is a little bit rainy, but as the son of farmers in northwest Ohio, to me, rain means life and it means growth. On behalf of the alumni association, I am so excited to be an ally and observer to your growth in your careers as you commence your lives," Kochczynski said.
Daemen University graduates heard from Grammy Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta.
"Our graduates today have the distinction of being the first class that entered the pandemic, lived through two very difficult years and found their way out of it," Falletta said.
Congratulations to all of the graduates.