My husband was there in his full adacemic dress. He is so distinguished, and has been such a support to me as I completed my degree. I was so grateful he was present in all of his own academic glory to cheer me on.
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| #academicspouses |
Also in attendance were my mom, my in-laws, my friend Teresa, and of course my Bookie. Twice during the ceremony speakers recognized the spouses, children, parents, and families of the graduates, as integral to our success in our graduate studies. The graduates were also given an opportunity to recognize our families through a round of applause. This meant a lot to me, that my new alma mater understands that our education is so dependent on the communities of which we find ourselves a part, including and especially our families.
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| From the program; image by @uofslibrary |
The president of the university at one point declared us all "sons and daughters of the university forever." This, again, meant a lot to me, since I already serve this university as a member of the faculty, and now I can call it my forever-home as a student as well.
Paul, Bookie and I posed for a photo outside the Chapel of the Sacred Heart on our campus, which is the exact spot where Paul and I first met in person in December 2010. My, how far we've come in just three and a half years. God has blessed us immensely.
One speaker during the ceremony noted that "commencement" means beginning, and that this moment signifies the beginning of the part of our professional lives to be animated by our graduate study. I like this, as I am now a librarian who has the degree of Master of Arts in Theology, and this is a subtle but important difference from the librarian I was before I completed my course of study.
I guess it's time to commence this next phase of my professional life, with all of the responsibility it entails. May God bless it.
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