Students at Duke, UNC turn their tassels during Mother's Day graduation ceremonies
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Graduates across the Triangle walked across the stage and received their degrees.
Graduates at Meredith College, Fayetteville State University, and Shaw University turned their tassels Saturday morning.
Keynote speaker Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was at FSU during the ceremony. He has close ties to the Sandhills as the first African American commander of the third brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.
The annual sea of Carolina blue rolled into Kenan Stadium on Mother's Day while at the other end of tobacco road, Duke awarded degrees to its class of 2023 inside Wallace Wade Stadium.
It's the end of an academic journey at UNC for broadcast journalist Kate Carroll.
"I'm waiting to hear back from a few employers in the journalism industry, so hopefully next week I'll be moving and starting my life," Carroll said.
She's following a career path established by her mother and grandfather, who are also journalists too.
"Yeah, the business as you know has changed a lot here in the last few years. But if there's somebody who can navigate it, she's an excellent, excellent writer," Carroll's grandfather Jim Shafer said. "And to find somebody who wants to go into broadcast journalism who can write, at her age, is a rare thing."
UNC's journalism classes prepared Carroll for questions about the commencement. She said she was excited to hear from the Keynote speaker Brian Stevenson.
Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization based in Alabama.
Another tradition endures, as Duke's class of 2023 starts its next chapter.
NBA Commissioner and Duke Alum Adam Silver was the keynote speaker for the Blue Devils.
With Carolina's 6,488 graduates and Duke's 6,600 degree recipients, it was a happy Mother's Day for both shades of blue.
Other Graduations
Last weekend, North Carolina Central University, St. Augustine's University, NC State, and Wake Technical Community College graduates took the stage during each school's commencement ceremonies.
Nine graduates at St. Augustine's made history Saturday becoming the first to receive a Master's Degree in Public Administration at the university.
RELATED: Civil rights attorney Ben Crump delivers an inspirational speech at NCCU graduation
