{"id":13217,"date":"2018-02-20T21:53:17","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T21:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=13217&post_type=story"},"modified":"2020-05-21T19:02:50","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T19:02:50","slug":"the-grad-hatters","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grad Hatters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring 2018 | By Bree Adamson \u201904<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Campus is abuzz with art these days, from statues and stained glass<\/a> to impressive murals<\/a>. But one form of artistic expression has gained popularity in recent years, going from rebel status to handcrafted sentiment and making an appearance each spring, summer and fall.<\/p>\n

Graduation caps, or mortarboards as they\u2019re formally called, are part of every 麻豆原创 student\u2019s commencement attire. And with ample space on top, the caps provide the perfect canvas for proud students to make a decorated declaration on their big day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives students a last chance to express themselves, a last statement before moving on,\u201d says Melissa Westbrook \u201914 \u201916MNM \u201916MPA<\/strong>, who decorated graduation caps for more than 100 students through Caps for a Cause<\/a>. Westbrook founded the organization and donated each $10 crafting fee to Feeding\u00a0Children Everywhere, a nonprofit that provides healthy meals to people in need.<\/p>\n

Westbrook\u2028 estimates the number \u2028of decorated caps\u2028at graduation has \u2028quadrupled since she\u2028 started designing them in Fall 2013. \u201cOnce people started seeing photos of caps online, it caught on like wildfire,\u201d she says. And\u2028 the designs run the gamut from motivational and movie quotes \u2028to humor and favorite hobbies. \u201c[Decorated caps] show the creativity of students, and it\u2019s another way for them to show gratitude \u2014 to their mom and dad, their grandma, their mentors.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days Westbrook is semiretired from decorating caps. Fortunately, other groups and entrepreneurial students have sprung up to help less\u2028 crafty students create memorable grad caps.<\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

For upcoming graduates, Westbrook offers the following advice:<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Make your message clear and concise.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Have a maximum of three different components.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t break the bank. You can craft a great cap for less than $20.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Plan your idea in advance and shop sales ahead of time, not the week of graduation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13521″ title=”GradHatter10″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13523″ title=”GradHatter12″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13524″ title=”GradHatter13″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13522″ title=”GradHatter11″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13520″ title=”GradHatter9″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13515″ title=”GradHatter2″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13518″ title=”GradHatter6″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13514″ title=”GradHatter1″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    [divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

    [photo id=”13519″ title=”GradHatter7″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”75%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

    \n","protected":false},"featured_media":13318,"template":"","categories":[975],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13217","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artifact","issues-spring-2018"],"yoast_head":"\nStudents Decorate their 麻豆原创 Graduation Caps for a Good Cause<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Graduation caps, or mortarboards as they\u2019re formally called, are part of every 麻豆原创 student\u2019s commencement attire. And with ample space on top, the caps provide the perfect canvas for proud students to make a decorated declaration on their big day.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Grad Hatters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Graduation caps, or mortarboards as they\u2019re formally called, are part of every 麻豆原创 student\u2019s commencement attire. And with ample space on top, the caps provide the perfect canvas for proud students to make a decorated declaration on their big day.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pegasus Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/麻豆原创\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-21T19:02:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/02\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-sp18-gradhatters.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"230\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@麻豆原创\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/\",\"name\":\"Students Decorate their 麻豆原创 Graduation Caps for a Good Cause\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-sp18-gradhatters.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-20T21:53:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-21T19:02:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"Graduation caps, or mortarboards as they\u2019re formally called, are part of every 麻豆原创 student\u2019s commencement attire. And with ample space on top, the caps provide the perfect canvas for proud students to make a decorated declaration on their big day.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-sp18-gradhatters.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/4\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-sp18-gradhatters.jpg\",\"width\":220,\"height\":230,\"caption\":\"A hand holds up a black 麻豆原创 graduation cap with a colorful floral design. It says, \\\"The Grad Hatters.\\\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Grad Hatters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pegasus Magazine\",\"description\":\"The Magazine of 麻豆原创\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/pegasus\\\/the-grad-hatters\\\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"麻豆原创\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Students Decorate their 麻豆原创 Graduation Caps for a Good Cause","description":"Graduation caps, or mortarboards as they\u2019re formally called, are part of every 麻豆原创 student\u2019s commencement attire. And with ample space on top, the caps provide the perfect canvas for proud students to make a decorated declaration on their big day.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Grad Hatters","og_description":"Graduation caps, or mortarboards as they\u2019re formally called, are part of every 麻豆原创 student\u2019s commencement attire. And with ample space on top, the caps provide the perfect canvas for proud students to make a decorated declaration on their big day.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/","og_site_name":"Pegasus Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/麻豆原创","article_modified_time":"2020-05-21T19:02:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":220,"height":230,"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/02\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-sp18-gradhatters.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@麻豆原创","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/","name":"Students Decorate their 麻豆原创 Graduation Caps for a Good Cause","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/02\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-sp18-gradhatters.jpg","datePublished":"2018-02-20T21:53:17+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-21T19:02:50+00:00","description":"Graduation caps, or mortarboards as they\u2019re formally called, are part of every 麻豆原创 student\u2019s commencement attire. And with ample space on top, the caps provide the perfect canvas for proud students to make a decorated declaration on their big day.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/02\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-sp18-gradhatters.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/02\/PegasusHomepage_SquareThumb_220x230-sp18-gradhatters.jpg","width":220,"height":230,"caption":"A hand holds up a black 麻豆原创 graduation cap with a colorful floral design. It says, \"The Grad Hatters.\""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Grad Hatters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/","name":"Pegasus Magazine","description":"The Magazine of 麻豆原创","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/the-grad-hatters\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"麻豆原创"}]}},"acf":[],"story_subtitle":"Students cap off\u00a0four years\u00a0with creativity.\r\n","story_description":"Capping off four years with creativity.","story_thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2018\/02\/PegasusHomepage_StoryThumb_Small_263x175-GradHatters.jpg","width":263,"height":175},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/13217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/13217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19519,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/13217\/revisions\/19519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}