Commencement

Twice a year I wear a cap and gown. Tonight is one of those events, Commencement. And I have to admit the College does an amazing job with it. Students will gather 4:30-ish in a huge torazo-floored lobby. It's beautiful with a large spiral stair case. They will then march through a large court yard and as they round their way through the separation between the buildings, they see this vast expanse that comes to a bowl with a band shell at the locus. Throughout this grassy concave will be family and friends on beach towels and blankets enjoying the sun, eating, and having a great time. They will hear bag pipes playing and see a large contingent of officials on the platform; there to honor them. The hair on the back of their necks will rise as will their pulse. We'll be celebrating.

Tonight's address will be from Dr. Braithwaite. He wrote To Sir with Love which is about his life as a teacher in England. He has been at the College on and off throughout the year; visiting classes, lecturing, etc. I had the privledge of sitting in on a discussion on the philosophy of education that he gave. He is quite passionate and doesn't let faculty sit in the victim's seat too long. I suspect that generally he holds them accountable for classroom success regardless of the obstacles. Perhaps he's just from that old school generation, or perhaps he has wisdom. Being that I'm on the dark side (administration), I'm not sure.

Graduation is where I realize my job has meaning. All the politics and crazy deadlines. The millions of dollars of technology that just never seems enough and the endless support that isn't quite good enough. But today hundreds of people will have benefited from the silent work of my staff and me. Without us they could not have been successful. We provided the tools for registration, to learn programming, to become proficient in medical billing, to see PowerPoint lectures, to research the Internet, to be able to call professors in a panic and get reassurance that they would be just fine. They will be going on to UCONN, getting a job in criminal justice, pursuing Yale, or just getting that AA in art because it felt right. There will be single moms who will have credentials to support their families. There will be kids that were forced to grow up just a little more to be successful in the military, the workplace, or anywhere else life might take them.

My Republican-Libertarian ideals are challenged by these liberal pragmatics and I just let it be. I rejoice with those who rejoice. I know pride isn't a pretty color, but sometimes it's nice to reflect on the good.