Well, I am now an official UMD alumni! Graduation Day was wonderful. It was held in the Ritchie Colesium at 9am in College Park. There were about 400 students graduating from the department of Communication, so it was a short and sweet ceremony. Ten of us proudly represented the Shady Grove campus, and we all got to sit together. Instead of alphabetizing us, we were each given a card with our name on it, so that the Announcer could just read it off when we got up to the podium. So, sitting with friends and classmates was fun. Dad, Mom, and Brett joined me in the celebration…unfortunately, Peter was sick with the same Sinus Cold I had had all week, and couldn’t take off any more sick days at work. And, Grandma had an ear-ache, so she also couldn’t join us. However, I was so blessed to be here, recounting good and hard times, and God’s gracious help throughout the past four years. After the ceremony, I took some pictures with the USG students, and then our family went out to lunch. Later that evening, a small group of my friends and classmates met up at an awesome restaurant in Rockville called Houston’s for dinner and wine. I am SO relieved to be done with writing papers, staying up late studying for tests, and spending beautiful spring/fall weekends indoors at the library. Yet, I will miss some aspects of college: like, eating a crisp apple while reading my textbooks in the September sun. Like, learning genuinely interesting things in class, and having intelligent, stimulating discussions. Like, talking with professors, hearing their stories, and being inspired by all the great minds of those around me and lecturing in front of me. Ok, so “great minds” is a bit of an over-statement. I must admit, not all my teachers were particularly impressive. BUT, I did have a handful who were great, and I will honestly miss them. All in all, it was neat to celebrate and think about how amazing it is that I am coming out of college with no debt, a great degree that will be the door to lots of opportunities, and the privilege of being in a country that encourages upper-level education and the ability to apply oneself to intellectual pursuits. Hopefully, I can do the Europe Tour I always wanted to do in the next two years, and who knows after that??!! It’s a mystery as of the moment 🙂
