Laurie Graduates!

Actually, I graduated in December, 2005 but yesterday was the graduation ceremony. There were approximately 3000 students graduating. Fortunately I was able to avoid the chaos of contending with thousands of people downtown just to hear my name read for 5 seconds at the ceremony. I was selected for the Academic Achievement Award Ceremony which I attended instead of graduation.

To receive this honor you must have a 3.95 gpa or higher, written recommendations from faculty, and you must participate in community service as well as participate in organizations or groups on campus. The college then chooses the top students out of the entire graduating class for this highest honor. This year there were 21 chosen and I was one of the 21! Out of 3000!

It's wonderful because they hold a private 'graduation' ceremony for the 21 students. It's only 90 minutes long and each student is called up individually to the podium as one of the Deans reads a 4 to 5 minute speech about you to the audience which consists of family, friends and faculty. Afterwards there was a beautiful reception. It was so wonderful to receive this honor and to be able to share it with my children! And I had a great dress too thanks to my mom and Leo - I felt like a movie star in that dress!

For all of the photos of my 4 to 5 minutes of fame, click here !!!!!