Today is the day my daughter “officially” received her degree that she has worked on so dilligently for the past five years. It took an extra year as she also did an honours program and she finished on the Dean’s List as well. Her degree (not a diploma!) is a Bachelor of Commerce, Honours Marketing. Needless to say her mother and I are very proud of her.
Ashlyn had the traditional cap and gown, and she was rocking a pretty black dress under it along with some special jewellery borrowed from mom for the occasion.
I actually busted out a tie for the day. I am rarely seen wearing anything other than sweats, shorts, or t-shirts, so Ashlyn said it must be love. She knows I feel the same way about formal clothing that Superman does about Kryptonite.
Convocation is held in Edmonton’s Winspear Centre, which is somewhat swanky. It is designed around live theatre and music performances so it is accoustically transmissive. In plain English this means that everyone heard the repetitive iOS notification noise on one idiot’s phone because he didn’t mute it properly or turn it off.
The ceremony itself wasn’t bad, although there were definitely parts that dragged on and on. And on. A surprise highlight of the day for me was the Honourable Anne McClellan being awarded an honourary doctorate by MacEwan University. She is a former Member of Parliament, former Justice Minister, and former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. Agree with her or not, you do have to respect her. She gave an excellent speech that was well-received.
What we were there for, of course, was to watch our own daughter walk the stage and be acknowledged as a graduate, and now alumni, of MacEwan University. I can’t say it enough, we are just so very proud of her, especially given how the pandemic threw a year and a half long monkey wrench into her learning.
The best part for me is that Ash not only has the diploma, but she already has the skills. She has been working as a social media co-ordinator for a decent-sized municipality for the past year. Graduates are doing things right if they can hit the ground running in their chosen profession instead of one where you’re asking customers, “would you like fries with that?”
Did I say diploma? I mean to say degree. Sorry, Ash.
Images made using a smartphone because it was convenient and I wanted to watch the ceremony instead of playing with a camera constantly. Okay? Okay. Sending thanks to the anonymous stranger from the crowd in front of the Winspear who used my phone to take our group shot.
