Graduation season is well underway, with kindergartners, high schoolers, college seniors and graduate students alike donning caps and gowns to celebrate their achievement. With their diplomas, graduates also get words of wisdom from a commencement speakers and a good excuse to celebrate. -- Lloyd Young ( 31 photos total)
US Naval Academy graduates throw their hats at the conclusion of their commencement and commission ceremony, attended by President Barack Obama at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on May 24 in Annapolis, Md. (Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency)
University of Minnesota, Rochester student Lauren Smith of Allen Park, Mich., takes an iPhone self portrait before graduation ceremony at the Mayo Civic Center on May 18 in Rochester, Minn. (David Joles/The Star Tribune via Associated Press) #
A secondary school graduate plays in a fountain as he celebrates the last day of school in Kiev on May 24. Students across Ukraine celebrated the end of the academic year on Friday, traditionally called the "last bell". (Gleb Garanich/Reuters) #
Seniors of Service High School watch balloons drop from above at the conclusion of their graduation ceremony on May 15 at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska. Ceremonies for graduates in the Anchorage School District began on May 8 and continue through May 23. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via Associated Press) #
Midshipmen celebrate at the end of the US Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning ceremonies on May 24 in Annapolis, Md. In President Barack Obama's speech at the graduation he addressed the rising number of sexual assaults reported in the military. (Molly Riley/pool via Getty Images) #
Class president Cory Beaumont, Saint Clair Area School District, Pa., stands up as Paula Hromyak, Schuylkill I.U. 29 Maple Avenue Campus principal, mentions him as "The Mayor" in her greetings to those gathered during the Schuylkill I.U. 29 Maple Avenue Campus commencement in Mar Lin, Pa., on May 28. (Jacqueline Dormer/The Republican-Herald via Associated Press) #
Graduate Leland Shelton is congratulated as he is acknowledged by President Barack Obama during his 129th commencement ceremony address at Morehouse College on May 19 in Atlanta. After a difficult childhood Shelton graduated Phi Beta Kappa and is on his way to Harvard Law School. (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press) #
Hannah Booth, 17, front, helps lead the valedictorians, salutatorians and the rest of Kamiakin High School's graduating class in a dance from High School Musical during Kamiakin High School's commencement ceremony on June 1 at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash. (Kai-Huei Yau/Tri-City Herald via Associated Press) #
University of Minnesota, Rochester student Hannah Salk, of St. Joseph, Minn., faces a corner and practices her speech before delivering the student perspective for commencement ceremony at Mayo Civic Center on May 18 in Rochester, Minn. (David Joles/The Star Tribune via Associated Press) #
David McCullough, right, receives an honorary degree during Lesley University commencement in Boston on May 18. (Michael Dwyer/Associated Press) #
A graduate celebrates at the US Naval Academy commencement ceremony in Annapolis on May 24. (Larry Downing/Reuters) #
A man tries to stay dry during a rain shower as he waits for a graduation ceremony to begin at Morehouse College on May 19 in Atlanta. (John Bazemore/Associated Press) #
Southmoore High School senior Miranda Mann adjusts her mortar board as she gets ready to attend her commencement ceremony in Oklahoma City, on May 25 five days after a tornado wreaked havoc in Moore, Okla. Mann's home was among those destroyed after a huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening a wide swath of homes and businesses. (Charlie Riedel/Associated Press) #
A high school graduate carried a little girl, the bell-ringer, during the last school bell ringing ceremony to celebrate the last day of the classes outside a school in the Belarus capital of Minsk on May 30. Belarus teenagers celebrated today the end of their studies in a traditional ceremony called the "Last Bell" that has rung out across the country. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images) #
Afghan girls hold their certificates as they graduate from a local Islamic school or madrassa, during a graduation ceremony at the Mazharal Olom mosque in Ghazni province west of Kabul, Afghanistan, on June 12. (Rahmatullah Nikzad/Associated Press) #
Graduates line up to receive their diplomas at the New York State Police Basic School graduation ceremony in Albany, N.Y., on May 29. (Tim Roske/Associated Press) #
Just before receiving his diploma, Benedictine College Preparatory Academy graduate Zachary Cade Johnson kisses the symbol of his school at center court of the gym floor, in Richmond, Va., on May 31. It was the last graduation at the school's Sheppard Street address. In the fall, it will relocate over 12 miles away to Goochland County. In the background, men of the class of 1963 sit in the front row. (Kevin Morley/Richmond Times-Dispatch via Associated Press) #
Virginia Tech graduating students from the School of Veterinary Medicine celebrate the announcement of their graduation at Lane Stadium during the 2013 spring graduation ceremony on May 17 in Blacksburg, Va. (Kyle Green/The Roanoke Times via Associated Press) #
Ben Goldfarb of New York checks his phone during commencement at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., on May 20. Goldfarb is receiving a degree from the School of Forestry with a focus on Marine Conservation. (Jessica Hill/Associated Press) #
Buena Vista graduating seniors dance following the commencement ceremony at Buena Vista High School on June 4. (Rachel Sonnenshine /The Saginaw News via Associated Press) #
Brown University graduates pass through the Van Winkle Gates during the procession before commencement ceremonies in Providence, R.I., on May 26. (Michael Dwyer/Associated Press) #
South Kitsap graduates, Daniel Hill, left, and Mitchell Blankenship peek out from behind the divider curtain to wave to family and friends prior to the start of their commencement ceremony at the Tacoma Dome on June 11 in Tacoma, Wash. (Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun via Associated Press) #
Graduates of Bowie State University put messages on their mortarboard caps during the school's graduation ceremony at the Comcast Center on the campus of the University of Maryland on May 17 in College Park, Md. First lady Michelle Obama delivered the commencement speech for the 600 graduates of Maryland's oldest historically black university and one of the ten oldest in the country. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) #
A Virginia Tech graduating student holds his cap in the air at Lane Stadium during the 2013 spring graduation ceremony on May 17 in Blacksburg, Va. (Kyle Green/The Roanoke Times, via Associated Press) #
The Dalai Lama speaks at Tulane University's 179th commencement ceremony at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on May 18. (Gerald Herbert/Associated Press) #
Kindergarteners, from the left, Xykyvonna Martin, Deyonna Vanerson, Lahery Varnado, and Santonio Washington, wait to enter the McComb High School Auditorium on May 21 for the kindergarten graduation ceremony at McComb High School in McComb, Miss. (Philip Hall /Enterprise-Journal via Associated Press) #
Jeffrey Canas, of Union City, holds up a sign at Rutgers University's football stadium in Piscataway, N.J., on May 19 during graduation ceremonies. (Mel Evans/Associated Press) #
Kanesha Whitworth cheers with fellow graduates during North Carolina Central University's commencement exercises on May 11 in Durham, N.C. NCCU awarded more than 700 bachelors degrees Saturday during the 121st commencement at OÌKelly-Riddick stadium. (Christine T. Nguyen/The Herald-Sun via Associated Press) #
Graduating students arrive for commencement exercises at Boston College on May 20. (Brian Snyder/Reuters) #
First lady Michelle Obama hugs Jenika Headley-Greene as Obama hands out diplomas during the graduation ceremony for Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet High School, on May 18 in Nashville, Tenn. (Mark Humphrey/Associated Press) #
Virginia Tech graduating student Emily Moonan turns and jumps to touch the Hokie Stone as she leaves Lane Stadium after the 2013 spring graduation ceremony on May 17 in Blacksburg, Va. (Kyle Green/The Roanoke Times via Associated Press) #
