Graduation

Friday, May 15, I graduated with my Masters degree from Texas A&M University. Wow! It doesn't seem possibly or real and it was a very fast two years. My parents camp up from Houston for the day. The day started with typical Kate excitement. Thursday, the bottom three apartments in my little efficiency flooded and my landlord turned the water off without telling me, and did not tell me when it would be turned back on. I spent the night at a friend's and showered and brushed my teeth there so I would not offend those I sat next to during graduation. I came home about an hour before my parents arrived, and there was still no water. Our first stop on campus was Francis Hall, my building. And who was the first person we ran into?!?! Lavell!! Lavell Merritt and I have shared an office for the past two years and have become good friends. I was thrilled for him and my parents to finally meet. Below is a picture of us outside the main office in Francis.
There was a reception for all graduating Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences (RPTS) students. It was held in the Recreation Center on campus. My dad was quite taken with the building. It's really nice and one of the few things I will truly miss when I leave College Station. The reception was compared to the graduation reception at Utah State, and USU's won. (In almost all contests where I peg TAMU against USU, USU almost always wins.) Next, it was over to Reed Arena for the ceremony. It was all the PhD, Masters, and Bachelors students from the Colleges of Agriculture and Architecture. We got all lined up, then marched in. I sat on the third row on the right side of the floor. The university president, Elsa Murano, said there were about 5,600 students graduating this weekend. Every student graduating is given the opportunity to have his or her name called and to walk across the stage. Thankfully, they do this in five different ceremonies. Regardless, ours lasted about two and a half hours. They were very efficient though.

We took a picture as a family outside Reed. That long maroon thing that looks like a track and field relay baton holds my diploma. I pulled it out last night to make sure it had my name on it. As a masters student, we had to wear these incredibly confusing hoods. The last picture is showing off the hood outside my building. My parents, my friend Ruth, and I all went to dinner to celebrate, and stopped at the cutest little ice cream shack for dessert. It was a great day and I can't believe I'm officially done.

Don't worry, I don't have a job lined up yet. I'm busy applying, but nothing yet.