The parking lot of the Denver Coliseum was especially lively for a Friday morning.

After attempting to find spots close to the building — a quest that scarcely was successful — families piled out of their cars and onto the expansive asphalt. Mothers made sure caps and gowns were on straight, fathers made sure all were accounted for and siblings gave hugs and nods of approval to their soon-to-be-alumni brothers and sisters.

Metropolitan State University graduated about 1,600 of its now-former students at the coliseum Friday, paying farewell to the class of 2025.

The graduating class — 1,230 of them earning bachelor’s degrees and 350 completing a master’s — included students of all walks of life. For some, the ceremony reflected a successful return to school in pursuit of a different career path; for others, it marked their first step into full adulthood.

For 19-year-old Adelaide Britton, the youngest graduate in the 2025 class, the moment felt surreal.

“I’ve just known that this was the plan for so long,” Britton said, acknowledging that until recently she never considered earning a degree at her age to be an accomplishment. “I think I’m getting to a point where I’m telling myself that it is something to be proud of. I’m getting better at that.”

Britton, who majored in Aviation and Aerospace Science and is planning to become an Air Traffic Controller, said that she was grabbed by the profession during her junior year of high school and knew it was what she wanted to do, despite the current uncertainty in the field.

“So much of it is that there aren’t enough people and resources right now,” Britton said. “I’m only one person, but if I can do a small part to help I want to go do it as soon as I can.”

Emmanuel Walker, a 26-year-old Computer Information Systems major who had dropped out of MSU for a few years to serve in the U.S. Army’s cyberwarfare branch, had his mother to thank for the drive that fueled him to return and finish his degree.

“I had to go back. I had to be someone my mom can be proud of, and also for my baby siblings, set an example for them to follow,” Walker said. 

Walker will use both the education and the collaborative skills he gained from MSU to return to the Army as a cyberwarfare officer on Tuesday as one of just 70 people selected nationally — and one of two from Colorado — to join the program.

“I failed out of high school, I got a 1.6 GPA. I remember my counselor saying that the future was not looking too bright for me,” Walker said. “This right here is the culmination of all my hard work, all the sacrifices my mom made to come to this country, to put me in school, to keep my focused. It’s overwhelming, I’m overwhelmed with joy. I’m just insanely happy.”

The celebration of the moment was evident even before the graduates walked onto the floor. Congregated by major and dressed in navy blue robes with red trim and tassels, many had to raise their voices to talk to one another above the collective chatter of the crowd. Some played music from speakers; others took photos with one another.

Once seated on the floor to the melody of Pomp and Circumstance and the applause from the crowd, many did their best to find their family and friends in attendance, waving or using their phone flashlights to signal their location as they scanned the seats for familiar faces.

For Laura Berney and Lydia Field, aunt and grandmother of 28-year-old Economics and Computer Science graduate Aaron Field, the event was a reminder of the rewards of hard work and perseverance.

“He worked his way through college and he has no loans,” Lydia Field said. “He’s the first grandchild to graduate college.”

Lydia Field said that Aaron, who was always interested in computers, plans to work in Medicare billing using his degree.

The keynote speaker for the event was Ed Dwight, the first black astronaut candidate initially appointed by President John F. Kennedy. During his speech, Dwight stressed the importance of approaching the world with hope instead of fear, and using it to build connections with one another with open minds and hearts.

“Once you join the hope crowd, there’s absolutely nothing that can stop you from being madly successful, and contributing enormous energy and progress to the world,” Dwight said.