NUMBER OF DEGREES AWARDED: 168

ATMOSPHERE: Sunny skies had family members seeking shade under umbrellas. Occasionally, the sun hid behind the clouds, giving way to a cool breeze that rustled the trees. But the heat was no opponent for the hundreds of jubilant, blushing parents and family members who crowded the campus quadrangle.

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER: Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, president of SUNY College at Old Westbury in New York and pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church.

GRACIOUS REPRIEVE: Before delivering his speech, Butts told the crowd he missed his initial flight and lost his luggage, which contained the longer speech he had planned to give. The graduates, and some in the audience, cheered.

WHAT HE SAID: Butts told the graduates that character counts. He recounted the actions of leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. who demanded full freedom and justice for all people.

"Only men and women of character who know how to have a concern for courtesy and have the capacity to endure will be able to meet this challenge," he said. "Never be ashamed and never let anyone put you down, stand on your feet and be proud," he continued through an eruption of cheers and loud claps.

Referring to the Democratic presidential primary, Butts said the world was witnessing a liberation of women.

"While we applaud Barack Obama, we also see a woman in this race," said Butts, who has endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. "Women are seizing their rightful place in our society."

He called on the graduates to be courageous and not sucked in by materialism but to work hard and demand better housing, better health care and better gas prices -- not just for the wealthy but for all.

"God put enough on this earth for everybody," he said.

HOME AGAIN: For the first time in 30 years, St. Augustine's held its commencement on campus. It rained during the last graduation on campus in 1978, and it has been held at J.S. Dorton Arena at the State Fairgrounds since. Commencement was moved back to campus at the request of the class of 2008, college President Dianne Boardley Suber said.

PAY YOURSELF: Suber told the graduates to "pay yourself first," whether it be putting $25 per pay week into savings, buying a good health insurance plan or saving toward purchasing a home. "You have to be able to step up to the plate," she said. "Results are the goal. Decisions and their outcome are the way we learn."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The tassel is worth the hassle," said Brandon Stokes, class president.

BEATING THE ODDS: Chrystal Atkins, 26, of Trenton, N.J., struggled in school after being bounced from home to home. Her parents were addicted to drugs, and Atkins went to live with her grandmother. After her grandmother died, she moved in with her aunt, who bears the same name. Atkins said it was her aunt who encouraged her. Atkins graduated Saturday with a bachelor of arts degree in communication with a concentration in public relations.

"I know I can be whatever I choose to be," she said. "I'm diving headfirst into the world."