Less pomp in this circumstance

CHAPEL HILL -- The blue-robed graduates at the Smith Center on Sunday drew a smaller crowd than a typical basketball game.

But if the radiant smiles and fists pumping the air were any indication, earning a college diploma is just as sweet at Christmastime as in springtime.

Hundreds of students graduated from Triangle universities this weekend, some a semester early and some a semester -- or three -- late.

Winter graduates mark the occasion with ceremonies far humbler than the football field extravaganzas most universities put on in May.

"They look past us a little," said Brian Haimes of High Point, who was earning a sports science degree Sunday after four and a half years at UNC-Chapel Hill. "This is no Kenan Stadium and all that, but that's not what it's all about. We're just as happy."

UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. Central University and Meredith College held high school-size ceremonies in gymnasiums over the weekend, and N.C. State University will do the same Wednesday. Duke and Shaw universities and St. Augustine's College don't hold winter commencement exercises, instead telling grads they can participate in the spring ceremonies.

Students at UNC-CH said there are some benefits to graduating at a time when most people are thinking about cookies and Christmas shopping.

"Less traffic," quipped Caleb Queen of Asheville.

His friend, Micah Chiles of Mooresville, said winter graduates face less competition for jobs. He already has a sales job lined up with Johnson & Johnson in Florida.

Other students said that staying an extra semester left them with few of the regrets that many on-time grads have when they leave campus for the real world. A few weeks into their ninth semester, some said, they started feeling eager to get on with their lives.

"A lot of friends have moved on, and it's time for me to go," said Biniam Tekola, a drama major from Charlotte.

The parents who filled seats at the Dean Dome, excitedly waving and clapping, said they were no less proud of their winter graduates.

Paul Byrd of Hickory said his son, Philip, graduated late because he wanted to spend an extra semester studying in Australia. In the past six months, he bungee-jumped from cliffs and snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef.

Byrd nearly glowed as he talked of watching his son grow and learn over the past four and a half years.

"He's curious, and he has a love of learning," Byrd said. "He's got friends all over the world, and that's a great thing to be able to say coming out of college."

A few were disappointed, however, that a small winter graduation doesn't earn students more individual recognition.

At UNC-CH, undergraduates did not march across a stage or receive a diploma and a handshake. The diplomas arrive by mail in March.

"I'd kind of like to hear her name," said Elaine Bunn of Zebulon, whose daughter graduated a semester early with a degree in dental hygiene.

Winter grads also don't get expensive out-of-state speakers. UNC-CH called on faculty member Hodding Carter, a former journalist and spokesman under President Jimmy Carter.

Hodding Carter told the graduates that, in a time of great tumult, they must find ways to serve their country. He said he favors a period of required national service for all college-age Americans.

Carter recalled watching President Kennedy's inauguration.

"His words warmed my blood and thrilled my soul then," Carter said. "They still do. 'Ask not,' he said, 'what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.' "

Most of the graduates recognized that the the pomp of the ceremony would soon be forgotten. Only the achievement will remain.

Melantha Murphy graduated from N.C. Central on Saturday with 10 of her family members watching. She was the first in her family to earn a college degree.

It took her five and a half years to get her degree in mass communications while holding down a series of full-time jobs, one of which required her to work from 1 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at least four days a week.

Murphy is also a severe diabetic. In her sophomore year, she also battled meningitis and pneumonia.

After the ceremony was over, she and her family celebrated her perseverance over a meal at IHOP.

"Graduation's graduation," Murphy said afterward, "whether it's in May or December."