Soak in the moment

By 7:15am on May 16, the crowd at Ellie’s Country Club was already shoulder-to-shoulder, with commencement-day revelers packing the patio beneath a canopy of balloons. Lines outside bars on the Corner began forming as early as 5am ahead of Saturday’s Final Exercises for students graduating from the College Arts & Sciences, and the Batten and education schools. The day before, former UVA president Jim Ryan, who was selected by the Class of 2026 to deliver the keynote address at Valedictory Exercises, told the thousands who gathered at the John Paul Jones Arena to “do the right thing. Always.” 

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