The Culmination: Graduation

About four and a half years ago I started out on my little Bread Loaf adventure. My friend Jill was already two years done with the program, and she encouraged me in my application and continued to encourage and inspire me during my first summer in Santa Fe. It had been about six years since I had been in school so intensely, but here I was, jumping in with both feet as they say. I'm glad I jumped so quickly and fearlessly without thinking too much because, had I done too much thinking, I may have thought I could have found a program that wouldn't take so many summers and span such a length of time. Bread Loaf is a truly wonderful program of opportunity and dynamics, but the travel and the length to complete it certainly create another set of challenges.

But I saw it through, and this last Wednesday, July 23, I graduated with my MA in English from Middlebury College! You'll see my favorite pic off to the left. That would be my blue and white hood around my neck. After 4.5 years of work, hood me, hood me, hood me! I was pretty excited.

It was a lovely morning. Enoch flew in the night before to share the day with me. We started with about an hour long ceremony wherein we had a student representative speak, and she did a wonderful job mentioning each of us and personalizing her remarks. Cheryl Glenn, who you may remember from an earlier post, was the faculty speaker and she was very dynamic. The funniest moment in her speech was when a faculty member's wife got up to take their 8 month old daughter out because she was being a bit fussy, and Cheryl immediately insisted that little Olivia get to stay. It was her first Bread Loaf graduation after all. So sweet!

I sang a couple of times during the ceremony with John and Bruce--a little arrangement of a Shakespeare song from a class I took and also another song--our own little version of "I'll Fly Away." My friend Sarah and I also presented the senior gift to Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe. Because of the generosity of people on campus and throughout Bread Loaf, we were able to raise over $1000 for that group which mainly services adults struggling with English and language skills. We were very excited to be able to give them such a gift, and the woman who came to accept it was absolutely shocked at the amount we gave. They are a growing organization, and I hope that we are able to further help them in their goals.

Then, of course, there was the hooding. There were only ten of us graduating, so it was very personal and fulfilling. We didn't bother with the formality and stuffiness of robes and caps, so we just wore the hoods for a couple of hours, taking pictures, and soaking in the experience.

Then we had a nice little reception and luncheon with family, friends, students, and faculty. By 2 PM, Enoch and I were on the road home. We got in about 9 PM that night. We were tired, but so glad to be home---even if it is HOT here right now. What a great day, and what wonderful memories.

I doubt I will ever pursue another full-fledged degree, but I never can tell. It was an adventure, and I will always be grateful I had the opportunity to study in a variety of locales with such a variety of professors and scholars. It certainly was a commitment, and I am glad that I saw it through.

Thanks to all of you who have supported me and cared about my progress. Thanks to Megan, Jessica, and Enoch who let me go away during the summers, leaving them to fend for themselves. I appreciate that they never made me feel guilty and instead, encouraged me along the way. I definitely learned that graduation is a process involving many people and the hand of the Lord to help me reach the end.