Coming Home: EARTH Graduates Reunite and Celebrate
At every EARTH Graduation Ceremony there is a moment full of emotion. Each time, when the University’s hymn begins to play, the entire community joins in, fervently singing the heartfelt lyrics that identify and connect us: “We are the Children of the Earth [Somos los Hijos de la Tierra].”
EARTH’s graduates carry this phrase with them in their hearts. When they return during Graduation Week to celebrate their five-year Class Reunions, it is an emotional homecoming to a place that will always be their home – our Guacimo Campus.
Friends reunite and colleagues connect while participating in social and networking events. They also meet with the University President to learn about current projects and new strategies to expand the University’s mission.
Although graduate María del Milagro Campos Víquez (’98, Costa Rica) lives in Guácimo, a town very close to her alma mater, she fondly misses the time she spent at EARTH 25 years ago. She remembers the joy of learning and growing with her classmates and the great relief when each term was about to end.
“I most miss those intense moments at the end of the semester and how we lived together with classmates from different countries. Learning-by-doing was one of the things that most influenced me during my time at EARTH. Now I work in education, and I have realized that this is something we all need. Theory is important, but it must be put into practice. Whenever I enter the campus, I think, ‘Remembering is part of life,’” María says.
According to Yendry Vega, Coordinator of the Alumni Relations Office, over 100 graduates from 15 countries attended the 2023 Graduation Ceremony and Class Reunions in December. With us were alumni from the Classes of 2018, 2013, 2008, 2003, 1998, and 1993, the latter being the first graduating class in EARTH’s history – now celebrating their 30th anniversary!
Another memorable moment of the Graduation Ceremony was when Didier Castro Parajeles (’98, Costa Rica), presented his son, graduate Juan Rafael Castro Villegas, with his degree, alongside President Arturo Condo and Dean Yanine Chan. As more and more sons and daughters of graduates have started to graduate from EARTH, we are creating a tradition of parents presenting the degrees.
At the end of the Ceremony, the graduating classes sang our University’s hymn with great emotion, in a warm embrace of camaraderie with their new colleagues.
We congratulate all of EARTH’s graduates and thank everyone who recently joined us and filled our campus with stories, memories, and smiles. You are the heart of our University!
