AMHERST — In 1993, Andres Martinez, now 58, left Venezuela for the United States, leaving behind his law studies at the Central University of Venezuela because of instability in his home country.
It wasn’t until 2010 that he began taking college courses again — first at Holyoke Community College before eventually getting into the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2016. At the time, he said he was unsure whether he would finish his studies.
“The first year I was thinking, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this,’” Martinez said of his jump back into higher education, here in the United States. He soon realized that it was a difficult system to navigate. “What is GPA?” he asked himself. “What are courses?”
On Friday, he bid GPA and courses farewell as he joined around 5,500 of his peers who attended commencement at UMass and received their bachelor’s degrees.
“UMass has been amazing,” Martinez said.
The ceremony at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium was relatively full, given the overcast skies.
Despite the drizzle, graduation day played out as usual with beaming faces smiling for the cameras; families trying to find each other across the expanse between the field and the bleachers, peering through the crowds and waving their arms over their heads; and beach balls punched around the crowd of graduates.
“It’s one of the most memorable days of your life,” said Michael Look, of Lynnfield. His son, Michael, had just filed into the stadium, pausing with friends so that he could smile for his mother taking photos.
Look said this will not be his last UMass graduation; he has two more children attending the school and one who had already graduated prior to Michael.
“They love it,” he said of UMass Amherst. “It’s a good school academically, and it’s a good school to have fun.”
Daniella Iannuzzi, the student speaker at the ceremony, made sure to touch on those fun moments during her remarks: hearing geese on the campus common, making friends in a bar bathroom, seeing the likes of Cardi B and Bernie Sanders come to campus. And, of course, there were the sports victories: two Patriots Super Bowls, one Red Sox World Series and, this year, a Frozen Four finals appearance by the university’s hockey team.
As faculty filed into the stadium, some held up “Fund our Future” signs — a reference to the campaign to boost public school and college funding by $1.5 billion. Graduation came amid tensions between state lawmakers and the university’s top brass, who have called for $10 million more in funding than the state House or Senate has proposed in their latest budgets.
Gov. Charlie Baker was the honored guest on Friday. In his commencement speech, he said that happiness is fleeting, but that “chasing it misses the bigger picture.” He said that what matters more is purpose, which comes from life experiences: “Purpose comes from being ‘in it’ — whatever it might be — with people you care about, and who care about you. Marriage. Friendship. Work. Community service. Play. Child raising. Coaching. Teaching. Cheering. Volunteering.”
“Note I didn’t mention politics,” Baker said.
He gave the graduates three pieces of advice: make smart choices, be a good listener and appreciate that life is a team sport. He told several stories about his own family to illustrate why those points were important.
“Clichés?” Baker asked. “Yeah, but that doesn’t make them wrong. It just makes them old. Like me!”
He made sure to touch on the subject of bipartisanship by mentioning his Democrat mother, Republican father, and the civil political conversations in their house when he was growing up.
“There was only one rule: You had to listen more than you spoke,” he said. “And when you spoke, you had to demonstrate some appreciation for what the other person was saying.”
UMass President Marty Meehan and Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy also addressed the graduates. Huge applause erupted as Subaswammy counted down to three and graduates turned their tassels. In the background, the university band played one last rendition of the school’s fight song.
“Go! Go U! Go UMass! Go UMass!”
As the crowds began to clear out of the stadium, the sun peeked through the clouds.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.