At the end of an academic year like no other, what could make more sense than a commencement like no other? Held at Rentschler Field in East Hartford (a first) and spread out over five days (ditto), this past week’s ceremonies awarded more than 9,400 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in an atmosphere of optimism, happiness, and relief.

Every commencement is special, but you didn’t have to look very hard to see what made this one unique. The circumstances, obviously, but more than that, the way these students rose to the challenge of those circumstances. And as speeches were made, selfies were snapped, and – most importantly – names were called, the world’s newest UConn alums got ready for the next chapter.

Here are some special moments from those ceremonies, captured by UConn photographers Peter Morenus and Sean Flynn.