springboard vs commencement

springboard and commencement both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
springboard	Yes	No	No	No
commencement	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, commencement is a hypernym of springboard; that is, commencement is a word with a broader meaning than springboard:

Other hypernyms of springboard include beginning, start.

springboard (noun)	commencement (noun)
a beginning from which an enterprise is launched	the act of starting something
a flexible board for jumping upward	an academic exercise in which diplomas are conferred
	the time at which something is supposed to begin