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.
