Every year, Shasta, who lives at the Houston Zoo, is presented with a box filled with the class rings and blesses the rings by climbing on the box. | Courtesy of Media Relations
The spring semester is coming to a close, and many UH students are looking to uphold years of tradition by ordering a class ring. For many students, ordering a ring signifies nearing the end of their college career and symbolizes years of hard work.
Representatives for Balfour, the company that handles students’ ring orders, will be on campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day from March 26 to March 28 at the UH bookstore in Student Center South.
“Have you completed 70 hours of coursework towards your degree?” the UH Alumni Association asks on their website. “Order your class ring online now and flash it in front of jealous underclassmen.”
Students are able to measure their ring size and look at samples anytime in the Alumni Relations Office in the Athletics-Alumni Center, according to the UH Alumni Association.
Believing everyone who graduates should get a class ring, Balfour representative Emily Dean said the process for getting a class ring is pretty straightforward.
“We measure your ring size and ask you a few questions about the metals, engraving and graduation year. There’s not much more to it,” Dean said. “The rings are not meant to look too different from each other, but those are a few ways for students to customize.”
Before ordering a ring, students should be prepared to pay a small deposit, Dean said. After this deposit is made, students will be able to make payments. If the available payment options do not work for a student, they can contact Balfour Customer Service, according to Balfour’s payment options.
“Students should make sure they are not ordering their ring too early,” Dean said. “You always want to do it closer to your graduation date because if you end up graduating at a later time there might be a delay.”
Psychology senior Naylea Villarreal, who wears her class ring every day, said she purchased hers through a representative visiting the campus.
“I ordered it at the bookstore,” Villarreal said. “It was a fast and easy experience with the rep.”
Villarreal said it is important for students to order a class ring because it represents hard work.
“It represents my achievements,” Villarreal said. “It also represents the sacrifices my parents made to help me reach my goals and dreams.”
Construction management senior Jeremiah Villalobos said although he doesn’t know much about the ordering process, the pamphlet he was given was self-explanatory. He plans on buying his ring by the end of this year and said he will be proud to show it off as a symbol of his academic success.
“I plan on wearing my ring every day I am not working or at the gym,” Villalobos said. “It will be my personal little trophy after all of my hard work.”
