My immigrant parents attended my Yale graduation. Seeing them on the Ivy League campus for the first time was surprisingly moving.

The author's parents attended his Yale graduation.

Courtesy of Gavin Susantio

• My immigrant parents never visited me while I was a student at Yale, but they came to my graduation.
• They didn't fit in with the other families, and they often apologized for their presence.
• It was moving seeing them on the Ivy League campus, signifying all they gave up for me.

The night before I left for my senior year at Yale, my mom and I joked that we would find each other again in the next lifetime, but as classmates.