Graduation!

Well, Friday was a very long and crazy day (for example, I had a banana for lunch, a cookie for dinner, and did not use the restroom for thirteen hours), but graduation came and went - fairly successfully, if I do say so myself. We ended up having seven graduates show up (one came literally minutes before we were about to have the graduates process in). It was great to have everyone there - they were so excited! Despite the stress of the day, I couldn't help but be excited with them.

One stressful, but good thing, was space. We held the ceremony in the room that was formerly our computer lab, and since we didn't think many graduates would show up we weren't too worried about space. Since we did have so many show up with their families, along with our staff and our friends and families, it was packed! It was actually standing room in the back!!! I was stressed about that fact at first, but then I just realized it meant that the event was a success since so many people gave up their Friday night to come to graduation.

The ceremony was pretty simple. Our speaker was a woman named Bobbie, who had been the manager at Adult Ed for several years before Jennifer (my manager). She was truly the perfect choice because she really understands our program and our students. More than just understanding our students, she also understands our staff and how hard it is to say goodbye.

The only part I had in the actual ceremony was reading a poem. The poem comes from Dr. Thorpe; it is his traditional poem that he gives to students at the end of each quarter. "In the evening we shall be examined on love" was written by Thomas Centolella and inspired by a quote from St. John of the Cross. This poem could look familiar to some, ever since I first received it from Dr. Thorpe I have passed it on to several people in my life. It has been an encouragement to me in this time of transition and I hope that it was an encouragement to our students as well.

"In the evening we shall be examined on love"

And it won't be multiple choice,

though some of us would prefer it that way.

Neither will it be essay, which tempts us to run on

when we should be sticking to the point, if not together.

In the evening there shall be implications

our fear will change to complications. No cheating,

we'll be told, and we'll try to figure the cost of being true

to ourselves. In the evening when the sky has turned

that certain blue, blue of exam books, blue of no more

daily evasions, we shall climb the hill as the light empties

and park our tired bodies on a bench above the city

and try to fill in the blanks. And we won't be tested

like defendants on trial, cross-examined on love like students

who don't even recall signing up for the course

and now much take their orals, forced to speak for once

from the heart and not off the top of their heads.

And when the evening is over and it's late,

the student body asleep, even the great teachers

retired for the night, we shall stay up

and run back over the questions, each in our own way:

what's true, what's false, what unknown quantity

will balance the equation, what it would mean years from now

to look back and know

we did not fail.

I am including pictures of graduation below. Thank you to everyone who was praying for graduation!!! It was a wonderful night and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of it!