SUNY College at Old Westbury commencement 2013

1,039: 967 bachelor's, 72 master's degrees

Student government association president Regis Burton told graduates: "We will walk across this stage and enter a society where children are still unable to obtain an education; a society where our friends have had to drop out of school to work and support their families, and a society where safety, now, more than ever, is not guaranteed."

Gary Wadler, chair of the college council, told graduates that they were stepping into a world "that stands in desperate need of your knowledge, passion and energy."

The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, president of the school and pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, said that graduates had weathered storms, both metaphorical and actual, and would weather more. "You will face a number of challenges," he said. "When you walk through the storm . . . hold your head up high."

"I'm feeling relief, but also some aggravation -- you've got to clean up stuff and make sure you get through in tiptop shape."

"I'm going to take a semester off before grad school and do some temp work. . . . I'm a cashier now, but I'd like to do something in a nonprofit. I'm trying to be optimistic."

"I've always had three jobs -- part-time teaching assistant, housekeeping and baby-sitting. I'm proud of making it through, and I'm graduating with no student loans."

"I don't really like politicians, and lawyers bend the truth. I'm interested in how the economy works, and how to make it work better."

"I got tired of being in the corporate world. I wanted to do something more meaningful."

"I actually graduated in December, but I'm walking today. I'm a social worker, and I started grad school last week."