Anyone who fretted about the overcast skies for Commencement early the morning of May 29 could have saved themselves some anxiety by consulting with Jase Bernhardt '11, an earth and atmospheric sciences major.

A gifted forecaster, as confirmed by his classmates, Bernhardt updated Facebook that morning betting his new diploma that "severe weather" would not be a problem.

"On a day like today, there will be afternoon showers and [a] thunderstorm," said Bernhardt, his fellow forecasters nodding in agreement. "We'll be out of the stadium by then."

Basking in the mild sunshine and cooled by a light breeze, Bernhardt and his seven graduating classmates joined thousands of others on the Arts Quad to line up for their march to Schoellkopf Stadium for Cornell's 143rd Commencement ceremony. Soon-to-be graduates started streaming onto the quad around 9 a.m., snapping photos, calling to friends and sharing final memories before processing into the stadium, where their families awaited them.

In step with the small department's tradition, the atmospheric sciences students made themselves known by carrying matching blue umbrellas with a "Cornell Meteorology" logo. Other traditions dotted the quad, such as veterinary medicine students waving inflated arm-length surgical exam gloves like balloons.

The chaos of picture-snapping, waving and text messaging was tempered by signs designating what schools should gather where. Staff volunteers in red jackets made suggestions here and there to keep the line in order.

William Martin, a staff member in facilities services, sat in a golf cart taking it all in. A Commencement volunteer for the past 10 years, Martin, whose wife and father-in-law both have Cornell degrees, was one of 13 golf cart drivers who helped mobility-impaired visitors get to Schoellkopf to enjoy the day.

"It's fun to watch people being very proud of their graduates," Martin said. "They've worked really hard to be here."

Not all the graduates segregated themselves by major or degree program. In front of Goldwin Smith Hall, members of the Empathy, Assistance and Referral Service (EARS) team, for example, flocked together to say their goodbyes. EARS is a student-run peer counseling organization.

"[This is] a huge concentration of the nicest people on campus," said Rian Yalamanchili, a graduating psychology major and Cornell Tradition scholar, standing with fellow EARS counselors and reflecting on his Cornell experience.

"I think I feel ready to move on, but I'm going to be sad," he said. "I've never felt more at home at a place."

By 10 a.m., the crowd was ready. As the chimes played such buoyant familiar tunes as Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus, the graduates from each college, marked with a banner, headed toward Uris Library and took a left turn on the way to Schoellkopf. From the Olin Library balcony, President David Skorton, trustees and faculty, dressed in traditional red regalia, waved and clapped for the procession.

It was hard to believe that just an hour earlier, the quad had been mostly deserted, dampened by a light drizzle. It was during this calm that roommates Celeste Falcon and Charlotte Thurston, both plant science majors, sat quietly on a bench in front of McGraw Hall, pinning fresh flowers to their mortarboards. A 7 a.m. plant science breakfast had brought them to the quad early.

Sadness tempered Falcon's excitement for beginning a Ph.D. program in plant breeding and molecular genetics following graduation.

"It's kind of mixed," she said of her emotions on this bittersweet day.