Graduation

Now that a month has past since my graduation, I should probably post about it.  I'm on top of things like that.

To be quite honest, there were several times when I thought graduating wasn't going to happen.  I would frequently call my friend Serb on my way home from class frustrated and confused.  She was in her master's program too but was a year ahead of me and helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel.

However, that light would continue to flicker over the next two years.  I defended my master's project at the end of March and was told that my data invalidated my study.  Uh-oh!  I was then assigned to gather more data and meet with one of my committee members the next week (my high school's spring break).  It's a good thing I didn't have anything planned because I worked on my project from sun up to sun down.  I read 3 books, 20+ research articles, analyzed data, and practically re-wrote the whole project from a different perspective.  That week, I spent 4 hours a day with my professor editing and gathering research to make my project better.  The first day, she took me back to the outline and gave me so much reading to do, my head was spinning.  I was ready to give up, but Tim wouldn't let me.  After that week, I defended my project again and passed with flying colors!!  I still had corrections to make but nothing as dramatic as before.  I raced to make the necessary changes and print my project and take it to the bindery in order to receive a letter of completion to get a pay raise.  It was a close call, but I got the letter and the raise.  It might sound pompous to be proud of yourself, but I am.  I was doing a happy dance for days!  Getting my master's degree wasn't easy, but I learned that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to and have a good support group!

Cost of grad school tuition:  $9,704 + books
# of thesis pages: 86
Cost of cap, gown, and hood: $70
# of times wearing above regalia: 3 (it will be 4 next week at Alta's graduation)
Doing it once and never again: PRICELESS!!!

 Receiving my hood at the Hooding Dinner and Ceremony

(Funny story: The graduates' names were called alphabetically and my name was skipped.  I had a temporary freak out thinking I wasn't graduating!)

 The two MEd cohorts (ESL and Curriculum and Instruction--my group)

 Me and Tim after University Commencement
(The green shiny thing around my necks is a stole and has UVU's seal on it. All of the graduates wore it.  Check out my cool sleeves!  I put my phone and my camera in them!)

 My fancy get-up!  Getting dressed correctly was a group effort!

(The light blue velvet on the hood and tassel signify an education degree.  The green satin represents UVU.)

 My committee member that worked non-stop during my spring break to help make my project a masterpiece!  I seriously want to frame it!
(the three stripes on her gown represent a PhD; the dark blue represents a PhD in Education.  It was really cool to see all of the fun colors and styles of the faculty members's hoods.)

 Sitting on the 3-D depiction of eternity, which is what the program felt like. :)

My family! My cousin and her husband came, but aren't pictured since they were taking the pictures.

Thank you UVU School of Education!  I learned a lot and am glad to be done!