Commencement is a graduation ceremony marking the completion of school, usually high school or college. When students walk across the stage in caps and gowns to receive their diplomas, that's commencement.

The ceremony celebrates finishing one part of your education while commencing (starting) the next chapter of your life. After high school commencement, you might begin college, a job, or something entirely new.

Commencement ceremonies follow certain traditions: students wear special robes and flat caps with tassels, school officials give speeches, and families cheer when their graduate's name is called. The ceremony itself is often called commencement exercises, even though nobody's exercising in the physical sense. Here, exercises means formal activities or proceedings.

Schools typically hold commencement once a year, though colleges might have ceremonies each semester. The event combines solemnity with celebration: it honors years of hard work while looking forward to what comes next.