Faculty, students and families celebrated the graduation of approximately 40 minority students Friday evening in the Kiva.

The event, Karamu Ya Wahitimu, means “celebration of the graduates” in Kiswahili. At the end of each semester, faculty present graduating African American, Latin American, Native American and international students with an African kente cloth and certificate as a part of the ceremony.

This semester, Geraldine Hayes-Nelson, assistant vice president for Pipeline Initiatives and Diversity Programming announced each graduate, while other faculty members presented the students with their awards. Della Marie Marshall, associate director of the Center for Student Involvement, gave the graduating students advice on leaving the university and entering the real world.

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– Ellen Kirtner