The University of Iowa

To the graduating Class of 2026: You remember watching your parents’ car pull away after move-in day. The mix of excitement and something that felt a little like falling. And then you took a breath and walked toward what came next. And somewhere in that first week, you met people who would change your life. The ones you called at 2am, moved off campus with, and will stand beside for the rest of your life. You studied hard, pulled all-nighters in the library, and figured out who you are somewhere between the first cup of coffee and sunrise, usually alongside the friends you didn’t know you needed yet. You know the feeling of a first warm spring day after a long Iowa winter. Windows open, something shifting, the whole campus exhaling at once. You’ve stretched out on the Pentacrest, notes beside you, breeze in your hair, not entirely sure if you were studying or just living. Every fall, when the leaves turned and you walked back onto campus, you felt it. That pull. That belonging. That feeling doesn’t leave you when you go. Iowa City gave you the backdrop for all of it. The late nights out, the morning coffee runs, the random Tuesdays that somehow turned into the nights you talk about most. This town only comes alive the way it does because of the students who pour their hearts into it. You watched records fall and legends rise. You packed Kinnick 70,000 strong, filled Carver, and were here when Caitlin Clark showed the whole country what Hawkeye fans already knew. You proved, again and again, that Hawkeyes show up. For each other, for this community, and for something bigger than themselves. And now, you leave campus stronger, wiser, and more sure of who you are. No matter where you go, you’ll always be a Hawkeye.

31,500+ hawkeyes. 31,500+ stories.

you didn’t notice… until you did 🥹 #uiowa #hawkeyes #college #nostalgia

You’ve been walking toward this moment your entire life. Congrats to the Class of 2026! 🖤💛🎓

you made this room a home 🫶

it goes faster than you think 🥹

tradition 💦 congrats @uicollegeofnursing grads! 🫶

spring semester hallelujah

hawks’ nests 🐣

full circle moment 🥹

Welcome home, future Hawkeyes! 🖤💛 [University of Iowa, Future Hawkeye, Iowa City, National College Decision Day]

hawkeyes to hawkeyes 🖤💛