graduation day
Thursday my nephew Andrew graduated from both high school and community college. He attended a program that combined the two degrees. We drove to the Garland Special Events Center, not far from my work. This center is huge--like a combination of a gymnasium and a concert venue. The attendance for the graduation event was in the thousands--at least 1200 folks were there to get a variety of degrees, certificates and diplomas.
The ceremony was really cool. The faculty came in first, in great regalia, and took chairs at the back of the cavernous floor section. A community college of some size has tons of faculty, and they were quite an impressive group. The graduates then trooped in, with rather well-thought-out mass choreography.
I was struck by these things during the graduation:
most of all, how incredibly important this community college graduation was to virtually every graduate and family member in attendance, and also:
--the sheer adulation and joy of the families in attendance
--the rich diversity of the graduates, who were comprised of immigrants from nearly every land imaginable, from every age bracket, from every ethnic group, across a wide array of demographics
--the keynote address by an English professor who kept his remarks free of fluff and a bit poignant
--the flood of people exiting amid tables of thin slices of graduation cake
--the seamlessness of it all
--what an interminable length of time it takes to give 1200 graduates their diplomas
--what careful attention the faculty gave to ensure they got the names pronounced correctly
It was grand to see my nephew, now 18, complete his graduation! I took this very flawed video of the moment itself with my cell phone video camera, which I will post here for memory's sake:
My wife and I were thrilled that we got to share in the fun.
The ceremony was really cool. The faculty came in first, in great regalia, and took chairs at the back of the cavernous floor section. A community college of some size has tons of faculty, and they were quite an impressive group. The graduates then trooped in, with rather well-thought-out mass choreography.
I was struck by these things during the graduation:
most of all, how incredibly important this community college graduation was to virtually every graduate and family member in attendance, and also:
--the sheer adulation and joy of the families in attendance
--the rich diversity of the graduates, who were comprised of immigrants from nearly every land imaginable, from every age bracket, from every ethnic group, across a wide array of demographics
--the keynote address by an English professor who kept his remarks free of fluff and a bit poignant
--the flood of people exiting amid tables of thin slices of graduation cake
--the seamlessness of it all
--what an interminable length of time it takes to give 1200 graduates their diplomas
--what careful attention the faculty gave to ensure they got the names pronounced correctly
It was grand to see my nephew, now 18, complete his graduation! I took this very flawed video of the moment itself with my cell phone video camera, which I will post here for memory's sake:
My wife and I were thrilled that we got to share in the fun.
