More than 5,500 students crossed the stage at Casino del Sol Stadium Friday night as the University of Arizona conferred degrees on the Class of 2026. The packed stadium echoed with cheers, family photos and caps tossed in the air; amid the celebration, several graduates told reporters they left with mixed feelings about stepping into the workforce.
University of Arizona graduates seated at Casino del Sol Stadium during the Class of 2026 commencement; many students told reporters they feel uncertain about entering the job market.
Seniors reflected on friendship, perseverance and the uncertain road ahead. "At the end of the day, I found my best friends; they are absolutely great guys, and I couldn’t be happier with the situation," said Hayden Hallett, capturing the camaraderie many students said helped them through four years on campus. Others were less confident about their immediate prospects. Delaney Jacobs emphasized optimism as her strategy: "I think staying optimistic is like the key and not getting down about if you can’t get a job, so just hopeful to get a job." By contrast, Charlie Baker admitted a desire for more time in school: "I’m absolutely not ready whatsoever, and I wish I could stay another four years, but we are going to try our best." Social and behavioral sciences graduates also voiced concern; Cooper Good described the current environment as "kind of dim right now, so it’s a little bit scary, especially for social behavioral sciences."
University officials sought to balance those anxieties with data and support offerings. The Career Readiness Center reported research indicating more than a 5% increase in early-talent hires this year, a rise the center’s leadership said exceeded expectations set at the start of the academic year. "It’s higher than the last two years, and it’s higher than we thought things were going to look like when we started the academic year this fall," said Emily McCarthy, executive director of the Career Readiness Center. McCarthy noted the growth was particularly pronounced among larger employers, with companies that have more than 100 employees accounting for a larger share of the uptick.
Outside research firms cited by the university point to certain sectors that are hiring new graduates at higher rates. The research firm HireVue identified professional services, engineering and finance among the top industries for new hires. McCarthy said the university has pushed resources and programming to help students connect with those opportunities, and she stressed that students generally have more tools than they realize as they prepare to enter the job market.
"I think most students are more ready and more prepared than they think they are," McCarthy said, pointing to an emphasis on experiential learning as a cornerstone of the university’s career-preparation strategy. The Career Readiness Center and university staff coach students to pursue internships, research positions and student employment as avenues to build relevant experience. "We really coach students towards experiential learning, that could be an internship, that could be a research experience, it could be a student employment experience," McCarthy said, outlining the kinds of on-campus and off-campus opportunities the university highlights for undergraduates.
Students who engaged in that approach described tangible benefits. Hudson Greenberg praised the university’s hands-on focus, saying it had prepared graduates to face difficult situations after commencement. "The university definitely prepared us for the best, I mean, the real world is hard, but this place really throws all the obstacles at you, and we are ready for whatever," he said. For many, practical experience and connections made through internships or research will complement classroom learning as they begin job searches or consider further study.
The festive atmosphere at the stadium shifted at times during the evening, particularly during the commencement address by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. His appearance was met with audible boos from the crowd before he reached the stage and the interruptions continued through parts of his introduction and speech. The reaction reflected weeks of student concern; Schmidt had faced criticism from some students over a sexual assault allegation brought by a former business partner and reports that he was named in the Epstein files. The boos, the crowd’s silence for much of the speech and only two moments of applause underscored how contentious his invitation had become. The reaction intensified during portions of Schmidt’s remarks that focused on artificial intelligence and data centers; at several points he responded directly to the audience, invoking freedom of expression.
By the time diplomas had been handed out and families began to file out of the stadium, graduates expressed a range of emotions: relief and pride, uncertainty about the job market and cautious optimism bolstered by university programs and data suggesting modest gains in hiring. University officials reiterated their focus on linking students to employers and building workplace experience before and after graduation, while students headed into the coming weeks with varied plans and expectations for the next chapter of their careers.