Well I'm rather behind on the blog and have multiple posts to catch up on since Christmas. However, I'm going to post some pictures from my graduation, then go back and cover what I missed earlier.
I've been working on my MBA for quite some time now, and am finally near the end. I'm working on my last class (International business course) right now which will culminate with a trip to Ireland this summer. Since CU Denver does not have a summer graduation ceremony, I went ahead and walked on May 12. I was actually considering not walking at all...but I'm so glad I decided to! Even though it was gray and cold, it was such a neat experience. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but something about the honor and dignity of the ceremony was a satisfying conclusion to a journey that hasn't always been easy. It was neat - really neat.
Gina flew in Friday and we had some fun brunch at Snooze and then good shopping times. I had to be at campus at 7:40 Saturday morning, so I took off and had quite the time people watching before the ceremony started at 9:00am. I was hoping for blue skies, but at least it didn't rain and we all managed to stay warm until the last 30 minutes or so.
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| The yellow and silver silk on my hood are the school colors. The blue velvet (not shown in this picture) and blue tassle represent my degree - MBA. |
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| And it begins...students stream in. I had a good photographer (Bryan)! |
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| There I am! I'd been looking for Bryan and Gina, and finally saw Gina jumping up and down in my bright green jacket. It was fun to know where they were in the great big crowd! |
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| There's the crowd, with downtown in the background. |
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| And the stage, all ready to go. |
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| The Tivoli student union provided a neat backdrop to the stage. |
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| And big screens captured various parts of the event. |
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| Then the faculty entered in all their glorious regalia... |
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| ...led by a bagpiper. |
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| And here we went... |
They went through and did doctorates and education specialists from all the schools first, then proceeded with the masters degrees. The business school was about halfway through the masters...before we went on-stage, we had a couple of "professional" photos taken...
...then we were up. I was first in line to walk from the business school (we obviously did not go alphabetically) which was kind of fun.
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| On stage waiting... |
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| ...waiting... |
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| ...and there she goes... |
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| ...saying "thank you" with my tongue stuck out! |
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| That's it folks - back to my seat! |
After sitting through all the undergrads, we were given our charge and followed the faculty out. Gina and Bryan caught up with me, and we had fun taking a bunch of pictures before I had to return my gown and hood.
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| Gina worked very hard to get the 2012 medallion to stay turned right until Bryan took the picture. |
A big heartfelt thanks goes out to those that encouraged me to finish this goal and supported me while I did - especially my husband and my family. It's a big achievement that I couldn't have done without you. Thank you.
After we left campus, Bryan took us out to brunch at The Chophouse where we warmed up and had good food, then he sent Gina and me off to get pedicures and manicures!
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| Massaging chairs! |
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| Gina's are actually more pinky-red and mine more orangy-red than the picture shows. |
I then arrived home to a bunch of lovely flowers which I had fun arranging...
...and we finished the day with dinner and tv at home. I took Gina to the airport the next day...
...and then started on my Ireland course and busy life Monday : )
It was a great weekend. Thanks to My Love - Bryan - and Gina for all the efforts to make it special and fun - it definitely was, and I will treasure the memories forever! It feels a bit weird to be writing about this as I'm knee-deep in my last actual class, but I'm so thankful I had that day to intentionally reflect on the journey and celebrate the accomplishment. So proud - Wooohooo!
