The 2024-2025 Academic Year Graduation Ceremony at Kastamonu University occurred on May 30, 2025, at the Emin Baydil Sports Field. At the ceremony, thousands of students experienced the pride of graduating from Kastamonu University. 

The ceremony, hosted by our Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Topal, was attended by Kastamonu Governor Meftun Dallı, Kastamonu Member of Parliament Fatma Serap Ekmekci, Kastamonu Municipality Deputy Mayor Eda Büyükdemirci, heads of public institutions and organizations, protocol members, our Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Mehmet Atalan, Prof. Dr. Ömer Küçük, Prof. Dr. Selahattin Kaymakcı, Deputy Secretary General Assoc. Prof.Dr. İbrahim Demirbaş, our academic and administrative staff, our students, and their families.

The graduation ceremony began with the procession of our university's band. The ceremony continued with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem after the procession of our graduating students. Before the protocol speeches, the top graduate of our university, Hilal Bildik from the Faculty of Education, took the podium.

In her speech, Hilal Bildik expressed her satisfaction with the first place she received as a result of her four years of effort, saying, "We are the architects who will build the future of our beautiful country." Four years ago, when we stepped onto this campus, some of us were excited, some were indecisive, and some felt lost. But eventually, we found common ground: the desire to change things, to make our tomorrows better than our todays. We dreamed a lot. Occasionally we felt far from those dreams, but we never gave up. "I am proud of all of us!" she concluded her speech. After her speech, Bildik engraved her name on the graduation age plaque.

After the student's speech, Kastamonu Deputy Mayor Eda Büyükdemirci took the stage and delivered her speech. Büyükdemirci, in her speech, said that they shared the joy of graduation with the students who came to Kastamonu from different parts of Anatolia and added value to the city, and she wished success to all the students.

Following Kastamonu Deputy Mayor Büyükdemirci, our Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Topal said that although our University is a young university, it has achieved significant successes and is a higher education institution that adds new ones to these achievements every day. Our Rector also stated that our university prioritizes quality over quantity and said, "Our university moves beyond growth based on numbers and quantity, adopting a vision that prioritizes quality; it is gaining respect both domestically and internationally with its competent academic staff, student-centered approach, and projects that contribute to society." "Our university is confidently moving toward its goal of being an effective higher education institution at the global level, in addition to regional development," he continued.

Reminding that academics have brought the students to this day by raising them with great effort and care, our Rector thanked the academics for their dedicated and high-quality contributions during the students' education process.

Our Rector reminded that the families who have raised their children with love and endured all kinds of difficulties after they opened their eyes to life have the biggest share in the success achieved by their children, and thanked the families for raising precious children with a high sense of morality, responsibility, and values.

Expressing his pleasure in sharing the graduation joy with the students who are at a turning point in their lives after a long educational journey, our Rector reminded them that this graduation is not an end in the students' lives, but rather a new beginning, saying, "Wherever you are, whatever you are engaged in; never shy away from defending justice, peace, love, brotherhood, cooperation, and sharing." Instill hope and compassion in the hearts of the oppressed, the sad, the lonely, and the forsaken. With the inspiration from our ancient civilization, beautify every place you go, and add value to every person you touch. You belong to a civilization that upholds the belief that dedicated individuals have the power to transform the world. I would like to remind you once again that the most powerful weapon you have is faith. "Believing, working with determination and courage, there is no difficulty you cannot overcome," he continued his speech.

Our rector concluded his speech by congratulating the students on their graduation and wishing them a life filled with health, happiness, goodness, and success in their post-school lives.

After our Rector, Kastamonu Member of Parliament Fatma Serap Ekmekci took the podium to deliver her speech. Reminding that our country has experienced great developments in the field of science, she emphasized the contribution of Kastamonu University to this success.  Kastamonu MP  Ekmekci stated that thanks to our country's national technology initiative, it will reach better places in the future, and he said that the country needs young people for a stronger Turkey. MP Ekmekci congratulated the graduating students and their families, wishing them success in their new lives.

After the opening speeches, the performances of the Atabeygazi Mehteran Association's mehter team, which took to the field, attracted great interest from the audience. 

The program continued with the presentation of awards to the students who graduated with honors from Kastamonu University. Governor Meftun Dallı presented the first-place award to the first graduate of the Faculty of Education, Department of Classroom Teaching, Hilal Bildik. The second-place award was presented to Şeyma Şefika Altuğ, a graduate of the Department of Traditional Turkish Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, by MP Serap Ekmekci. The third-place award was given to Emine Fatmanur Gemli, a graduate of the Faculty of Education's Classroom Teaching department, by our Rector, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Topal. 

The first part of the ceremony, where awards and certificates of achievement were presented, ended enthusiastically with protocol members and students coming together for a group photo and throwing their caps into the air.

After the cap-throwing ceremony, the program continued with concerts. Our students shook off the fatigue of the years with the songs of Sertan Özer and Murat Mermerci, while the graduation excitement peaked with DJ Chive.