At commencement this year, international and study abroad students will have the chance to represent different countries with a customized graduation stole.

For $45, students can purchase a stole with up to two flags from countries they are from or have studied abroad in during their undergraduate career.

Emerald Tribuno, study abroad marketing and program manager, said this idea has been around for a few years, but it wasn’t until senior Andrea Rodriguez took over the project that it became a reality.

“The reason that it’s happening really is the initiative that Andrea has taken,” Tribuno said. “This was something that we’ve always been wanting to do, and she kind of took it up as her project for the year and has really pushed it forward.”

A survey showed that many alumni said studying abroad was one of the most impactful experiences during their time at St. Thomas; Tribuno said the stoles are a way for students to showcase those experiences.

“It’s really a way, we hope, to kind of represent our global campus at this big event that we have,” Tribuno said. “(Students) are able to commemorate a really important and transformative experience that they have while they are here during their four years.”

In the future, Tribuno said they would like to offer the stoles to graduate students as well.

“We’d like to expand it to graduate students as well at some point because they’re also doing these types of experiences, or we have lots of international graduate students as well,” Tribuno said.

Junior Janae Harris studied abroad in both Italy and Greece, and is considering getting one for when she graduates.

“I like that it’s recognizing the efforts that students are making to become more rounded and really getting to know other cultures,” Harris said.

Though Harris thinks it’s a cool idea, she said the $45 price might be too expensive for some students.

Tribuno said one reason the stoles are $45 is because each one is customized, which bumps up the price.

Junior Erika Bjorkman, who studied abroad in Iceland her first year, said she hadn’t heard about the stoles but would be interested in getting one.

“I think it would show that people either come from different backgrounds or are interested in whether they studied there,” Bjorkman said.