Former postdoc Aileen Berasategui recognized something weird about science training in the United States. There is little tradition, little pomp and circumstance surrounding a PhD defense. She decided to change this. We now have a silly but wonderful tradition. We make each PhD student a graduation hat. Each ridiculous hat features their study system, inside jokes and the things that we love about the person. Making these hats is so much fun, in part because it involves a lot of glitter and hot glue!