More than 8,300 students graduated from UCF this spring, and many of them found their own way to stand out among the crowd at commencement ceremonies May 2-4 by decorating their caps. Whether UCF’s newest alumni drew inspiration from quotes, gave a nod to their future career, transformed their cap into a canvas to create beautiful art or paid homage to their time in college, here’s a sampling of some of this year’s best that were caught on camera. (Photos by Carly McCarthy ’14)

Grad cap decorated with Toy Story aliens

Grad cap decorated with text: The American Dream

Grad cap decorated with children's signatures on notebook paper

Grad cap decorated with Gaming Knights and UCF pegasus logo

Grad cap decorated with text: Pop some bottles, I'm graduating to Mommy

Grad cap decorated with text: Be Brave, Stay Wild with jungle theme

Grad cap decorated with text: I speak for the trees

Grad cap decorated with vinyl record and orange tassel

Grad cap decorated with text: US Army Veteran and NASA logo

Grad cap decorated with text: Pizzaboy I ate my way thru college

Grad cap decorated with text: Impacting the world through art

Grad cap decorated with gold heart made of intricate lines

Grad cap decorated with Disney princesses

Grad cap decorated with Game of Thrones quote: My Watch is Ended

Grad cap decorated with text: Tara Out and image of person dropping diploma

Grad cap decorated with text: Unafraid I'm bold & proud

Grad cap decorated with photos of three animals and text: out human is graduating

Grad cap decorated with Spanish text

Grad cap decorated with text: Future Academy Award winning producer

Grad cap decorated with Harry Potter's Marauders Map

Grad cap decorated with newspaper and text: Read all about it

Grad cap decorated with microphone and text: Stay tuned

Grad cap decorated with Mean Girls quote: He doesn't even go here anymore

Golden retriever wearing a grad cap lays down