Four New Hampshire colleges and universities held commencement exercises this weekend.
They include Keene State College, which awarded diplomas to 989 undergraduates on the Fiske Quad Saturday.
College president Anne Huot encouraged graduates to keep a spirit of community with them as they begin the next phases of their lives.
"I ask you," she said, "to be the person that lifts the spirits of others with a smile, a joke, an embrace, a kiss, an outstretched hand and a spirit that chooses intentionally to see the best in everyone."
This weekend's commencement events also include Nashua's Rivier University, which conferred degrees on 925 undergraduates at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts; Colby-Sawyer College in New London, which awarded diplomas to 273 undergraduates, and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, which has a Manchester campus.
The New Hampshire College and University Council says other colleges in the state will hold commencements in the coming weeks, with Dartmouth College capping off the season on June 12. NHCUC president Thomas Horgan says more than 19,000 students are receiving degrees.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.