The University of Findlay held its commencement ceremonies on Saturday.

We spoke with Cate, from Perrysburg, after she completed the traditional Arch Ceremony with her fellow graduates. 

“I walked through it (the Arch) during COVID, which was certainly a wild time, and to walk through it now and see it be just so normal is really exciting,” Cate told WFIN.

“The University of Findlay has given me so much and so I’m really grateful for it.”

Cate earned her undergraduate degree in Primary Education and will be pursuing a master’s degree in Reading from UF.

Cate is also on the basketball team and was granted a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID year and is excited to be coming back.

Overall, 902 students graduated, with some earning multiple degrees.

Associate Degrees: 16

Bachelor’s Degrees: 432

Master’s Degrees: 314

Doctoral Degrees: 152

The grads come from 39 states and 24 countries.

The youngest graduated was 18-years-old and the oldest was 67.

See video of the Arch Ceremony below.

As freshmen, the students walked through the Arch towards Old Main to symbolize the start of their journey at UF, and tradition states that students must not walk back through the Arch until commencement, or they wouldn’t graduate.