This year will mark the first time in 25 years that St. Edward’s University has not held separate graduation ceremonies for August and December graduates.

Since the number of graduates are increasing, the August, December and May graduations will all be held in one ceremony starting May 2013 said Brenda Stone, the executive assistant to the executive vice president’s office.

In August 2012, 246 degrees were awarded. Currently, 340 students are certified to graduate this December. As for May 2013, the number of graduates will not be known until after the Feb. 25, 2013 certification deadline, Assistant Registrar Donna Chandler said.

Graduates from August, December and May will come together in the Frank Erwin Center in May 2013 for an official graduation ceremony.

Meanwhile, December graduates still have five months before they can walk across the stage.

Andrew Weber, a senior English writing and rhetoric major with a minor in journalism, plans to apply for internships so that he will have somewhere to work when he graduates in December. Weber plans to stay in Austin and said that he will not stick around just so he can walk across the stage.

“I’m not a terribly sentimental person,” Weber said.  “I don’t feel that walking across a stage will hinder me from feeling accomplished. I can understand people that do feel that way and want the experience, but that’s just not me.”

Weber said that he is most excited about life after graduation because he will be glad to get out of school. Weber also expressed concern about entering the job market but said that it was not something he finds extensively stressful.

Another December graduate, Francie Gremillion, a senior communications major with a focus in public relations and advertising, plans to start a job with GasPedal, an entrepreneurial company.

Gremillion said that she will only be coming back to walk in May because she will be living in Austin.

“Because I’m not walking until May, I can’t close this chapter of my life until May … It doesn’t make sense,” Gremillion said.

She was also upset that she could not order a graduation gown or go through the motions of being a graduate this semester. Because she could not do these things, she said it has not truly felt like her last semester as an undergraduate.

Sam Campbell, a senior English writing and rhetoric major, is not that concerned about getting a job just yet.

Campbell is applying for the Japan Exchange and Teaching, JET, Programme and for a similar program in Spain. He is also applying for graduate school at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, RPI, where Campbell hopes to obtain a graduate degree in human computer interactions.

If none of these opportunities work out, Campbell plans to stay in Austin and is still unsure if he will walk in May. Even if he gets into the JET Programme, he will not leave for Japan until July and will still be in Austin for the May graduation ceremony.

Campbell said that his attitude towards not being able to officially graduate in December is a combination of irritation and apathy.

“You’re not rewarding students for graduating early,” Campbell said.