graduation day
Posted by Daniela Elza on Jun 17 2011
This is the first graduation day I have attended. Last time I graduated Dethe and I got married. We did not have much choice for the day. We knew most people we wanted to come to our wedding had to leave the day after graduation. We had to do it on graduation day. I walked down an aisle, but in a different gown.
In this sense today could be a once a lifetime experience. So I had to go.
Charles Scott and I in our regalia. Charles has been a great support and inspiration. He can pull a rabbit out of the logos hat, sometimes even at the drop of a hat.
The three musketeers. (If we did not have to line up so soon Kathryn would have organized us into a spontaneous dance performance.) So that gets postponed to the 22nd and will be performed in a glass display.
Pouring down the hill to the convocation ceremony in an orderly fashion to the sound of bagpipes. I am number four in the red strip.
Then some speeches. (I wish we had a speech like Amanda Palmer’s commencement speech on The Fraud Police delivered on April 23rd to The New England Institute of Art’s Class of 2011 (Boston, MA).
Now that is a message I would have liked to hear.
Then each of us takes to the stage. Your name is announced.
Take hat off.
Get hooded.
Put hat back on.
Shake hands.
Walk to you chair on stage and sit down.
A view from where I was sitting.
Another view to my right.
The view over my left shoulder. Some more inspiring and favourite people. First in this row is Don Nelson.
And me admiring them. (With the numerous years spend at SFU flashing before my eyes.)
After the ceremony, on our way to the reception. So glad my son came. (He was glad he had his ipod with lots of games on it to get him through the hours of ceremony.)
He even got to hold the “sword”.
My awesome senior supervisor, Heesoon Bai, and I. She is to blame for all this red and blue garb. Without her I might not have gotten to the finishing line. She sailed the doctorate ship smoothly and with such grace that storms were barely felt. Thank you, Heesoon.
A quiet moment after the ceremony, by the waterfall, with my Dethe. Without his encouragement and support this day might not have been possible.
June 17th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Congratulations again! You rock!
All the best,
–bill
June 17th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Congratulations Doctor!!! :-) .f.
June 17th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
Congratulations Dr.Daniela:-) You did it!
June 17th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Congratulations Daniela. I am so happy for you. The photographs are lovely. Did Mina get to go too? Love you!
June 18th, 2011 at 12:02 am
Congrats, congrats!
June 18th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Thank you Bill and Frank.
Nevena, Sushi for sure, soon.
Ann, Mina almost came but decided to stay home and rehearse for her play today. They are having their end of year play tonight at 6 and the ceremony took a big chunk up of yesterday. They will be doing two performances today and I am about to drive her there.
Thanks Rob, and welcome back. You did not expect to come back to this-kind-of-riots Vancouver, did you?
June 18th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Thanks for posting your words and the pics, Daniela. Being with you, Don, Kathryn, Rob, Amy, Kate, and the others was both suitably solemn and yet terribly fun. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
June 21st, 2011 at 10:17 am
Congrats, Daniela! On to more writing, reading, living & loving.
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Yes, Charles, I agree.
Thanks Al. I have been getting some reading in. Loving always. Submitting next MS.
But the writing… that will take some work getting back to.
September 23rd, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Dr. Poetphilosopherlady,
I was happy to see the fruit of so much labour fully ripened in a blue hat. You worked hard, inspired many, collaborated greatly, and coloured the world with word arrangements in your own unique ways up on that hill.
And down in this city you are a living poet-philosopher-poet doing all of the things you do best.
With fond regard…
September 24th, 2011 at 10:53 am
Thank you Nicole,
I have not given up on seeing you in that blue hat as well. And your support was invaluable. Loved our drives up and down the hill. And sorry about my driving. I may appear distracted but I am not always:-)
May 20th, 2012 at 12:17 pm
[…] thought last year will be my first and last graduation ceremony since I missed my Masters graduation day for a good reason. It looks like I will have to attend another one this year on June 15th to receive an […]