Commencement

A Surprise Guest at Columbia Engineering Class Day Ceremony

Columbia Engineering School graduating senior Ruby Robinson had an unexpected surprise at the school’s Class Day graduation ceremony during Commencement week. The computer science major assumed that her father, U.S. Army Reserve Captain Keith Robinson, who has been deployed for the past six months in northern Afghanistan, would not be able to attend her graduation while on active duty.

May 19, 2014

As it turned out, Capt. Robinson was able to receive a leave from his unit and fly to New York, arriving shortly before the ceremony. As Ruby walked across the stage to shake hands with Dean Mary Boyce and President Lee C. Bollinger while receiving her degree, her father was waiting just off stage to congratulate her. The more than 14,000 of Columbia’s undergraduate, graduate and professional students in the Class of 2014 will gather on Wednesday for the University-wide Commencement, when both of Robinson’s parents will be present.

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