It's weird being on campus. With only one class this semester, I'm so rarely there. I didn't even buy a parking permit. If I do find myself on campus, it's to run paperwork errands, pay a binding fee, pick up robes, get something signed.For once, I'm not hauling around a big backpack--just a small purse wallet. It's hot out. If a bride ever wants to ensure that it doesn't rain on her wedding day, she should schedule it on the same day as a May college graduation.
I called Robin Martin earlier to ask if she thought I ought to dress up, so I'm wearing a spring dress, and sandals.
People are already gathering between Douglass and Calaveras Halls. I take a seat behind Kylee Cook, who I haven't seen in awhile. She smiles at me, but we leave the chatting for later as the ceremony has started. Sheree Meyer, Chair of the English Department, is standing in front of a picnic table with a mic, and opens with something insightful about the novel.
I fan myself with the yellow program, and open it, wondering how long I'll have to sit out in the sun before I get handed my piece of paper. One after another professors come up to speak about award winning students and I clap. Most of them are undergraduates, and I recognize them from walking the halls and from classes I took before I was classified.
Eventually, I tromp up to the front for a certificate of achievement for earning my Masters, presented by David Madden, and then again when I am inducted to Sigma Tau Delta, an international English Honor Society. No pomp. No circumstance. But it all seems just right receiving pieces of paper between these two buildings that have been my second home for two years.
Sheree Meyer makes the closing remarks, ending with words from students in the Calaveras Station Literary Journal. She reads excerpts from Aschala Edward's "Loads Heavier Than Mine," Casey Rene Miller's "Heat Stroke," and Ray Crosby's, "The Power of a Word." I look around while she reads. Casey's not around, and I know she would just die if she knew. Ray Crosby left CSUS last year and is pursuing his PhD at UC Riverside.
Afterward, it's cake, crabby puffs, and chatting with members of WIP who I haven't seen in forever. Marie Hoffman and Mary Guidice are in attendance. Gordon Warnock, who I haven't seen since last December, is also graduating and tells me about a few projects he's working on. I even manage to get a picture with Doug Rice.
A group of us head over to Hoppy's for some dinner and drinks. On the way, Bridget Mabunga shares her and her husband's plans to visit Hawaii. We joke about odd placed tattoos and life after graduation.
Life after graduation.
I've been thinking about life after graduation a lot lately. What happens after graduation? Okay, okay. I know what's happening three months from now when my bump becomes baby, but what about my writing? What's to keep me from sinking into non-writing obscurity? How can I stay motivated and keep growing as a writer outside of school?
I'll have to keep thinking about that.
Program
CSUS Department of English 16th Annual "Graduation Celebration" dually honoring the December 2008 Graduates and the Spring and Summer Class of 2009
- Welcome - Professor Sheree Meyer, Chair of the English Department
- The First English Department Student Conference "What's at Stake" Recognition of student organizers - Presented by Professor Hellen Lee-Keller to: Rhett Farinholt, Jacob Phillips and Rachelane Smith
- Outstanding Senior Award - Presented by Professor Hellen Lee-Keller to Jordan Reynolds
- Elizabeth Keith Olmstead Memorial Scholarship - Presented by Professor Emeritus Robert Olmstead to Anne Purvis
- Hortense Simmons Study Abroad Scholarship - Presented to Kristen Campbell
- Karen Lee Warmdahl Memorial Scholarship - Presented to Jeffery Pressnell
- John F. Wilhelm Award - Presented to Ashley Andreoni
- Presentation of Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society Inductees - Presented by Professor David Toise
- Certificate of Achievement, Master of Arts in English - Presented by Professor David Madden, Graduate Coordinator
- Certificate of Achievement, Bachelor of Arts in English - Presented by Professor Bradley Buchannan, Undergraduate Programs Coordinator
- Closing Remarks - Professor Sheree Meyer, Chair of the English Department
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