He reached down and touched the thick yellow silk ribbon draped across the mahogany front panel.

“Eight years ago, an anonymous gift set up the endowment for these commencement ribbons,” General Vance said.

“That gift came from a young officer who spent her off-duty pay to make sure this institution kept its traditions.”

In the middle of the front row, my mother sat up straight in her cream blazer, adjusting her pearl necklace with a thin smile.

Beside her, Derek leaned forward in his navy suit, tapping his foot on the grass as if he expected his own name to be called next.