Thousands of college students across San Antonio graduated this month with college certificates and degrees that prepare them for the next chapter of their careers.
Celebrations of the official Class of 2026 started in early May, with thousands of families proudly filling venues to see their graduates cross the stage.
Some made it easier for their families to spot them by decorating their caps with special messages and mentions of what helped get them through the many hours of study.
The Alamodome hosted back-to-back ceremonies over the last few weeks. On Saturday the venue welcomed more than 4,000 graduating students from UT San Antonio and their families over two ceremonies.
UT San Antonio President Taylor Eighmy noted something many local colleges and universities are proud of, the number of first generation students who cross the stage each year.
“I think that’s the most I’ve ever seen,” Eighmy said at one of the two graduation ceremonies held Saturday after asking first generation graduates to stand to be recognized.
“About 80% of our graduates today are first gen, congratulations!” he added.
Alexandra Sierra, 21, was one of thee many graduates that morning to dedicate her accomplishment to her family, especially her parents. She graduated from UT San Antonio with a bachelor’s degree of science and decorated her cap with the phrase “Si se pudo,” in honor of her parent’s resilience and sacrifices.
“They were my motivation to get through school,” Sierra said, adding her parents migrated to the U.S. to give her these opportunities.
Many of her classmates also added their own personal touch to their caps. Some created LED light displays, others got crafty with 3D flowers, messages to their loved ones, childhood pictures and even some homages video games like Minecraft and Pokémon.
“I love Minecraft. I’ve been playing it since I was a little kid and it also reminds me of my brothers,” said Alexis Woods, 22, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UT San Antonio.
The evening before the graduation Woods built 3D Minecraft blocks out of cardboard paper and a message that read “Achievement Made! The End?”
Jacklyn Aponte Tapia, 33, earned a bachelor’s in electrical engineering, built a pixel art display with her favorite logos including the UT San Antonio roadrunner, a Pokémon ball and a San Antonio Spurs logo.
“One of my favorite memories as a kid was watching the Spurs win the NBA Finals,” Aponte Tapia said. “I wanted the cap to represent that being girly and nerdy are not flaws and being ‘weird’ is actually pretty cool and also you can just do what makes you happy there is no right or wrong way to exist as yourself in the world.”
Alamo Colleges District also hosted four of its graduation ceremonies at the Alamodome and one at Freeman Coliseum.
The district awarded an estimated 15,000 certificate degrees and undergraduate degrees this academic year across its five institutions — San Antonio College, St. Philip’s College, Palo Alto College, Northwest Vista College and Northeast Lakeview College — an increase of nearly 1,000 degrees and certificates awarded over the last academic year, 2024-25.
Alfredo Reyes Landeros, 17, earned a associate degree of science from Palo Alto College and will soon transition to UT Austin to pursue a degree in economics. He paid homage to his late grandfather, Jose Landeros on his cap with a prayer and a photo of the family patriarch.
“He would be really proud,” Reyes Landeros said.
James Monteagudo, 20, also graduated from Palo Alto College with an associate degree in biology and is seeking to transfer to UT Austin. He printed the quote “This was all for you” on his cap, surrounding a portrait of himself as a child.
The quote was inspired by a song by Ethel Cain that means a lot to him. As a first generation college graduate, he said this accomplishment is to honor his younger self but also his entire family.
“It’s amazing,” Monteagudo said. “I have four sisters, so it’s just awesome to be the oldest and show them what it’s like.”
Jhazmin Lim, 18, was also graduating from Palo Alto College and chose to quote the lyrics to Laufey’s “Letter to my 13 year old self” song, to honor her younger self and the effort it took to get to this day.
She now hopes to transfer to a 4-year college and will soon transfer to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Sitting next to her was Howard Roberson, 17, who also took about a month to carefully craft his cap design, which read “I just thought he liked the height,” a quote from the movie “Legally Blonde” surrounded by flowers, stars and gems dedicated to each person that got him through the college years.
Roberson will also transfer to UT San Antonio soon to pursue a degree in physics.
Texas A&M San Antonio celebrated their class of 2026, a total of 773 graduating students, with a ceremony at Freeman Coliseum on May 19.
San Antonio’s private universities also held ceremonies over the last few weeks.
Our Lady of the Lake University held its commencement ceremony on May 7, with 480 graduates crossing the stage at Freeman Coliseum.
St. Mary’s University also held two ceremonies on Saturday, May 16, at the university’s convocation center, where 658 students crossed the stage.
At Trinity University, 587 students were awarded degrees during a ceremony on Sunday, May 17, at the Laurie Auditorium.
And nearly 1,000 students crossed the stage during the University of the Incarnate Word’s graduation ceremony held on May 9 at Freeman Coliseum.
One of them was Lourdes Castro, who let her creativity flow by adding her favorite animated character Stitch to her cap and an ode to K-Pop.
The San Antonio Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.
