NUMBER OF GRADUATES: Chancellor James Oblinger handed out 4,030 bachelor's, master's, doctoral and doctor of veterinary medicine degrees.

SPEAKER: Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system since 2006. Bowles, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and 2004, was the White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton and was a Charlotte investment banker.

WHAT HE SAID: Bowles kept his speech short, giving the graduates five principles that he said have served him well in his life.

He told them first never to "over-promise," whether to their employers, friends or family. "If I tell my wife I'll be home at 8, and I get home at 7:30, I am a hero," Bowles said. But if he promises to be home earlier, and then gets home at 7:30, Bowles said, "I am a dog."

Bowles also told the graduates to do quality work and to be open to new ideas. And while building their careers, he said, they must also "add to the community woodpile" by doing good works.

Most important, he told them to make time for family. "I don't think anybody really knows what love is until you have a family," he said.

CLASH WITH THE MEDIA: Before beginning his speech, Bowles recounted a recent article from the N.C. State newspaper, the Technician. "It said that I was the latest of a long line of dull and sadly unimpressive speakers to take the stage," Bowles said to laughs.

BIGGEST LAUGH: Bowles told the graduates that he had no illusions that they would remember what he said. "I can't even remember if I went to my graduation," Bowles said. "And looking at some of you, I'm not sure you will either."

PARENTS' JOY: Bowles also received big cheers for a comment that parents were likely the most ecstatic people in the arena. Many were beaming, or sighing with relief, as their children accepted their degrees.

Dell McGill of Greensboro said she was celebrating a "great four years" for her daughter Kelly, who earned a degree in communication disorders. "She was a drum major in the band, and she graduated summa cum laude," McGill said. "So we're real happy."

While all were proud of their grads, a few had other reasons to be happy.

"Maybe I can retire now," said Janet Payne of Atlanta, who said she and her husband struggled to pay the out-of-state tuition. Their daughter, Chapin, who earned a degree in sports management, was the last of four children to finish college.

SEARCHING FOR A FAMILIAR FACE: At the Triangle's largest universities, parents and graduates often struggle to see each other in the crowd. The crowd was full of people waving signs and balloons and yelling in vain to graduates who couldn't hear them. One family came up with a novel way to make their grad notice them: They brought an air horn and let out a few ear-piercing squeaks.

CRAZY CAPS: The students who marched in to the sound of a somber processional wore the traditional black gowns and sashes. But many decorated their caps with sequins, paint, even stuffed animals. One cap proclaimed "Bride to Be" and another "Just married." One agriculture student's cap was covered by a sign from the N.C. Cattlemen's Association that said "Eat Beef."

The gaudiest by far were the caps of the veterinary medicine graduates, who were observing a tradition. They used the caps as canvases for miniature barns and farmyards and trimmed them with feather boas and pictures of cats and dogs.

INCONGRUOUS MOMENT: An a cappella version of the "Star Spangled Banner" was performed by the campus singing group The Ladies In Red. They all wore black.

GOING TO WORK: As they filed out of the arena, the graduates appeared ready to take on the world. Several said they already had jobs or job prospects.

William Alexander said he will start in September as a software engineer at Cisco Systems. Before that, he'll spend a few months in Japan learning the language.

He advised against the aimless path that many students take through college.

"I never would have made it if I hadn't had every step planned out," said Alexander, 24. "I wasn't like that in high school, so I changed my act."