{"id":25568,"date":"2025-04-15T14:06:55","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T18:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/?p=25568"},"modified":"2025-04-25T12:06:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T16:06:27","slug":"blog-commencement-no-terrier-is-left-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/2025\/04\/15\/blog-commencement-no-terrier-is-left-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"At Commencement, no Terrier is left behind"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Rachel Farrell | Photo by Bill Politis | April 2025 <\/em><\/p>\n

Every graduating student at BU deserves to attend Commencement. But, in years past, some students haven\u2019t participated\u2014not by choice, but because they couldn\u2019t afford a cap and gown. <\/p>\n

In 2024, BU launched the Tassels for Terriers<\/a> fundraising campaign to help BU students in this predicament. The Terrier community responded in a big way, donating enough funds to gift caps and gowns to more than 250 graduating students with financial hardship. <\/p>\n

Yadira Cabrera (COM\u201924)<\/a> was one of those students. Now a public relations professional in New York City, she reflects on the importance of Tassels for Terriers and her gratitude for the donors behind it. <\/p>\n

Before you learned about Tassels for Terriers, how were you planning to pay for your cap and gown? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I was already working four jobs, and I decided I would pick up extra shifts to pay for my regalia. Honestly, I was feeling really stressed, financially; there are a lot of events for graduating seniors that cost money. My friends were also feeling stressed. Some of them were picking up extra shifts, too, or using Facebook Marketplace to buy regalia from previous graduates. <\/p>\n

What did you think when you found out your regalia was covered? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a huge deal! Several members of my family were planning to come to graduation\u2014including my grandfather, who flew in from Puerto Rico\u2014so we had a lot of expenses to deal with. It was a relief to know we didn\u2019t have to worry about one extra thing. <\/p>\n

How would you describe your experience at Commencement? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It truly felt like a full-circle moment. After four years of stress and hard work, it felt so good to say, \u201cAll that work was worth it.\u201d It also felt overwhelming because graduation isn\u2019t just the end of college; it\u2019s the beginning of your career. <\/p>\n

What did it mean to your family? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m the first in my family to graduate from college, so Commencement was a moment they\u2019d been waiting for since I was born. My mom, dad, sister, grandfather, two aunts, and uncle were all there, and they\u2019ve each been a huge support system for me throughout my life. My mom raised me and my sister by herself, and they both made sure I never missed a single day of school. My grandfather is a political journalist, and he inspired me to work in public relations. My aunts and uncles were the ones who bought me everything for my dorm at BU. Right after Commencement, we spent a few minutes taking pictures together, and I know we\u2019ll always cherish that moment and never forget it. <\/p>\n

Is there anything you’d like to say to the donors who gifted your regalia? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It is great to know there are people out there who care about students with financial struggles. I think donors who give to Tassels for Terriers are very considerate; they think about what low-income students need, even beyond scholarships. I\u2019m extremely grateful for them! <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

With BU Commencement 2025 fast approaching, the Tassels for Terrier<\/a> campaign is in full swing! To support a graduating student with financial hardship, make your gift today<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to BU\u2019s Tassels for Terriers campaign, more than 250 students received free caps and gowns in 2024\u2014including Yadira Cabrera (COM\u201924), who shares what Commencement meant to her and her family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16028,"featured_media":25569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,35],"tags":[1355],"featured_img":"\/alumni\/files\/2025\/04\/Yadira-Graduation-Photo-800x600.jpeg","agg_excerpt":"Thanks to BU\u2019s Tassels for Terriers campaign, more than 250 students received free caps and gowns in 2024\u2014including\u2026","agg_title":"At Commencement, no Terrier is left behind","media_icon":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25568"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25666,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25568\/revisions\/25666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}