I spent this past weekend in Omaha attending graduations. The one on Saturday was for our middle granddaughter, from eighth grade. The one on Sunday morning was for our oldest granddaughter, from high school.
I am so proud of the girls and their classmates. They have worked so hard to get to this point. Both graduated with honors. I know the 8th grader has four more years, but it is an end and a beginning. She will be changing schools, and some of her friends and classmates will be going to different high schools. For the senior girl, she'll be starting college in the fall. She'll do fine, but it's a bigger change. A lot of decisions to make as far as majors and career aspirations.
I had a good time with family (my husband had caught a cold and stayed home). My son and daughter in law had an informal reception for the girls at their house on Saturday afternoon, with cake and snacks. I got to meet a lot of their friends.
Now I'm going to vent a little about what the adults who plan commencements need to learn. Homilies and speeches need to be brief and to the point. And there needs to not be too many of them. The high school graduation was on Sunday morning. It was a Catholic high school, so they had a Mass, which was appreciated, so they didn't make people miss Mass to attend the graduation. But the guest homilist did go on and on. And it was in a gym, so everyone but the parents, faculty, and students were crammed into the bleachers. After Mass were the actual graduation ceremonies. There was a speech by the principal. And of course one by the salutatorian, and the valedictorian. And another by the principal. When it was all over, everyone clapped madly. Because they were glad it was over.
The eighth grade graduation was in a church, no one had to cram into bleachers. And only one speech in addition to the homily ( which could have been briefer). But things were lower key, which was a good thing.
I went to my eight grade graduation, my high school graduation, and my college graduation. But I did not go to the commencements for my MA degree in psychology nor my doctorate in social psychology, nor my theology MA from Notre Dame.
ReplyDeleteIronically, I ended up with getting two doctoral hoods; I decided not to return one. Felt I had earned two. Of course I have never had any occasion to wear them.
My eight grade graduation was in the local Nazarene church. My pastor though that was terrible but it was the only decent place in our small town, the Catholic church was in the next town. I still have the clipping from the local newspaper for the even and the medal they gave me, I think as the outstanding male student, a real teacher's pet. I always got along better with my teachers than my fellow students.
No awards at my high school graduation although I was a National Merit Finalist. The teachers thought they should give them to other students because I didn't need since I was going off to Jesuit Novitiate.
At my college graduation I walked next to Dennis Williams whom I had come to know in my senior year. We sometimes went drinking together with the history major who was the senior class president. William was one of the children of the Williams of Mennon-Williams makers of aftershave, etc.
I have never kept track of any of the people that I graduated with either in grade school, high school or college, except from one from my home town. Ronald V. Dolan high an extremely high SAT math school score (higher than mine) but not much of a verbal score. He had a problem with stuttering. However Ronnie went on to be an actuary
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Ronnie had a distinguished career in the insurance industry and in local philanthropy. Like myself he had considered becoming a priest. Two of his sisters had become nuns. However, he died at age 63; don't know anything about why.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/ronald-dolan-obituary?id=42174514