Six students walked in the second annual Kent State LGBTQ Center Lavender Graduation ceremony Tuesday night in the Cohn Jewish Student Center.

Kent State Advising Director Steven Antalvari gave the keynote address to 35 attendees, in which he reflected on his own experiences as an openly gay man, talked about the transition from college into the next stages of life and the “reinvention of self.”

“If I’ve learned anything, I learned how to fail,” Antalvari said. “I believed that I needed to be a creator who learned from his experiences. I create a success from my failures. I see failure and success as synergy.”

Antalvari said one of the most important things he could share with the group was to have a support system.

Senior Timothy Lewis, who’s graduating with his Bachelor’s of Science degree in nursing, said he participated in the Lavender ceremony to celebrate the Kent State LGBTQ community.

“It means you survived,” he said, “It means you got through it and that you made it. It’s exciting that I was able to get through it all.”

LGBTQ Center program coordinator Roxie Patton said Kent State’s LGBTQ community sees its challenges, but accomplishes a lot in their wake.

“I’ve seen students overcome great obstacles to achieve their educational accomplishments,” she said. “Tonight, we’re here to celebrate some very impressive students.”

Patton said that with the support of the Kent LGBTQ Center and community, students can achieve great things despite unsupportive families and financial problems.

Lewis said he’s had mixed experiences being openly gay on the Kent campus.

“I’ve had professors who haven’t been the most accepting,” Lewis said. “But I’ve also had others who would probably attend a [gay] pride parade.”

Lewis said one of his favorite memories from his time at Kent State was earlier this semester when hundreds of students filled Risman Plaza in response to the Westboro Baptist Church’s announced visit, which never occurred.

Alfreda Brown, vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said she attended the ceremony because she feels it is important for students to be connected and feel supported.

“[This ceremony exists] to really appreciate our students in a way that makes them feel like they’re a part of out community,” Brown said. “It’s important … for students to feel that they can belong.”

Patton closed the ceremony with advice from one of her elementary school teachers.

“It’s not always going to be easy; just keep going.”

Contact Jake Green at [email protected].