NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – This late May weekend marked the culmination of years of hard work for graduates at Smith College. The commencement ceremony was held on Sunday morning at the Smith College Quad and 22News spoke to a few families of those graduating, to take a look at how their accomplishments were celebrated.

“Very excited, very happy for my daughter. Very proud as a parent,” expressed Peter Salenius of Massachusetts, a proud parent of a graduating student.

It’s graduation day for the Smithies. Students at Smith College walked across the stage and stepped into the next chapter of their lives. Families and friends gathered outside on the quad to honor the graduating students.

One father told 22News his daughter is going to be a teacher, “My daughter Katie is graduating and I’m very proud of her, and I’m psyched to have one off the payroll.”

Holly Kunkemueller from New Hampshire says her daughter studied anthropology and already knows her next move, “She has an internship at the Whitney Museum in New York. She is hoping to use that as a spring board to find a job at a museum in New York from there on.”

The private liberal arts women’s college in Northampton had women and girls empowerment activist, Reshma Saujani as the 2023 commencement speaker.

“On the entire female population, that condition was called bicycle face,” said Saujani.

This is Smith College’s 145th commencement ceremony. Commencement weekend also included a series of events like the alumnae parade to honor the college and several classes.

They also had Ivy Day and Illumination Night as part of the school tradition.