Start with your non-dominant hand flat in front of you, palm facing up. Form a 'G' handshape with your dominant hand. Make a small circular flipping motion with your dominant hand, then land it firmly on the palm of your non-dominant hand.
Point to yourself for 'I', sign 'next year' by moving your dominant fist forward from your non-dominant fist, and then perform the 'graduate' sign. The firm landing of the 'G' hand emphasizes the completion of your goal.
Sign 'you', then 'college' by sliding your flat dominant hand upward from your non-dominant hand, and finally 'graduate'. Remember to raise your eyebrows and lean forward slightly throughout the sentence, as this is the grammatical marker for a yes/no question in ASL.
Sign 'my', then 'sister' by bringing an 'L' handshape down to your non-dominant 'L' hand. Sign 'recent' by tapping your cheek with an 'X' handshape, and finish with the 'graduate' sign, landing the 'G' handshape firmly on your palm.
Point to yourself for 'I', sign 'next year' by moving your dominant fist forward from your non-dominant fist, and then perform the 'graduate' sign. The firm landing of the 'G' hand emphasizes the completion of your goal.
Sign 'you', then 'college' by sliding your flat dominant hand upward from your non-dominant hand, and finally 'graduate'. Remember to raise your eyebrows and lean forward slightly throughout the sentence, as this is the grammatical marker for a yes/no question in ASL.
Sign 'my', then 'sister' by bringing an 'L' handshape down to your non-dominant 'L' hand. Sign 'recent' by tapping your cheek with an 'X' handshape, and finish with the 'graduate' sign, landing the 'G' handshape firmly on your palm.
Yes, this sign is universally used for graduating from any level of education. Whether you are talking about middle school, high school, college, or a master's degree program, the sign remains exactly the same. You simply add the specific school sign before it.
You don't have to over-enunciate, but gently mouthing the word 'graduate' or 'grad' can help clarify your meaning. In ASL, mouth morphemes and natural facial expressions add important context, so a subtle mouthing of the English word is very common and helpful for beginners.
While the concepts are closely related, 'alumni' is often fingerspelled in formal contexts. However, you can also express the idea by signing 'graduate' followed by the sign for 'person' (the agent marker) to indicate 'a person who has graduated,' depending on the conversation.
