<p>We just got home from attending our son's graduation and wanted to share some things we did and didn't do, but wish we had - if I don't do it now, I'll forget! First though, I have to say it was a GREAT experience! It was VERY organized and President Loh was a GREAT speaker. He came in giving high fives to the students. He was very charismatic, funny, and down to earth! I, personally, liked listening to him more than the keynote speaker. Also, the lady who sang the National Anthem was the most enthusiastic singer I have ever heard perform our nation's song. It was a GREAT way to begin the ceremony! She is a professional opera singer and currently teaching at UMd. Now for my suggestions!</p>
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<li><p>We booked a hotel even though we are only 1:15 minutes away. I'm glad we did this as it would have been exhausting between early hours of the start of the university-wide graduation, department socials,.... coupled with the hot temperatures. We are glad we did this. </p></li>
<li><p>If you are out-of-state or far enough that you decide to book a hotel, you might want to do this now! We looked to book a room at the UMUC Marriott around Memorial Day last year and it was available. But, we hadn't decided yet if we wanted to commute or lodge there so we waited until early June. Unfortunately, it had already filled up. If it is already too late for you and you are interested in booking a hotel, we ended up getting a room at the Marriott in Silver Spring which worked out well, too.</p></li>
<li><p>Arrive at Comcast Center early. We left the hotel around 6:30 am and stopped to pick up donuts,... for small tailgate before graduation. We hit lots of traffic on the way to UMD, but still arrived around 7:20 which made us one of the earlier arrivals. We had our choice of parking spots! :) We parked in Lot E right near Comcast Center and were able to back into the spot right by a wide sidewalk and grassy area - By Gate C and intramural fields. Again this was great. We could tailgate without blocking the sidewalk and our son could stop by and grab a bite and do pictures,... This was also a wonderful place to park because after the University Graduation, President Loh agreed to go outside and have his picture taken with every and all students who wanted one! He said he would stay until the last one was done! (Our son opted not too, but if he had wanted to wait in line, the place where he was set up was probably 30 feet from our car where we could wait in air-conditioning! :) </p></li>
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<p>4, If you want to do a nice dinner celebration make reservations well in advance. We failed in this regard! :P HOWEVER, it worked out fine as we just went to a TGIFridays near our hotel. </p>
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<li><p>I don't know if all the departments/schools do this, but our son's department had a social in the Kim Building. While my son wasn't sure he wanted to do this as many of his friends hadn't planned on attending. We decided to attend (fortunately we had already RSVP'd!) He ended up having a great time! Some of his friends ended up attending after all and it gave us a chance to meet some of his teachers, dept. chair,.... Everyone was another nice event!</p></li>
<li><p>For the school of engineering graduation, it wasn't scheduled to start until 4:00 on Friday. We weren't sure where we wanted to go for lunch because as you can imagine that all the local restaurants were packed. We decided to go to a restaurant called Founding Farmers located in Potomic (about a 20 minute drive). It was FANTASTIC! The food was great and there was something on the menu for all tastes - even my VERY picky teenage son! Plus it was comparable in price to TGIFridays.</p></li>
<li><p>After lunch, my son wanted to hang out with his friends for a bit before the Engineering Graduation, so the rest of the family went over to Comcast about 2 hours early! I wasn't looking forward to this, but again we weren't disappointed. There are tables and chairs and televisions in various places around Comcast. Additionally, there is a museum and book store that you can browse around. There is also food and drinks available for purchase. Getting there early allowed us to miss large crowds and again get decent parking. It also allowed us to view the current school graduation that was taking place prior to Engineering's graduation. It could be viewed on the tv's that were in a variety of areas around Comcast. </p></li>
<li><p>They had a professional photographer who took pictures of each student receiving his diploma. These are e-mailed to the students for purchase. Also, a brochure was mailed to students (much like the brochures for care packages) but this was to order a nice UMD diploma frame. The prices for these were $150 and advertised that you get free shipping if ordered by May 2nd. We didn't order one until yesterday (May 24th) and still got free shipping. Other frames were available in the bookstore in Comcast for $235+. My son said they are also available at other bookstores for similar prices. The frames at the bookstore were different from the brochure. The bookstore's frames had fabric matting and a small UMD emblem. The $150 frames had regular matting but came with a watercolor that was also very nice. </p></li>
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<p>That's all I can think of for now, but best wishes to all of you and your students. We have been quite pleased with UMD. GO TERPS!</p>