Recap of the last 9 years:July 2000- Andrew and I meet and start attending BYU that fall
June 2001- we get married
May 2004- we graduate from BYU
Sept. 2004- Andrew begins his masters’ program at American University
May 2006- Andrew graduates from AU
Sept. 2006- Andrew begins his second masters' degree at Johns Hopkins
May 2009- Andrew graduates from JHU
Of course some other major events occurred, but the point is, Andrew has been in school for (count em) 9 straight years.
Last Friday was Andrew’s graduation from Johns Hopkins University. I don’t think I realized how proud I have been until I watched him walk across the stage to receive this last diploma. When we graduated from BYU I was too busy being proud of myself to even give Andrew much thought. He chose not attend his AU graduation, so there really wasn’t much closure or reflection there. But this graduation seemed different- mostly because it will be his last and there seemed to be some finality to it all, like a huge chapter in our lives has been closed.
Based off of my observations, I would say that this is the degree Andrew has enjoyed the most. The late nights have been hard, but the course work interesting (at least to him) and relevant to his work. There were many occasions where he would come home and excitedly try to explain things like “credit derivatives” to me (if there ever was a lost cause, this would have been it).
Although I was simply a bystander during this whole schooling process, it feels good to have Andrew done. Both of our parents were able to attend the graduation, along with his brother Peter and our children. The biggest sacrifice of the day came from Sammy who had to miss his own preschool graduation on account of his father's graduation (I'm joking about the sacrifice part). It really was a lovely graduation, and again, Congratulations Andrew!
June 2001- we get married
May 2004- we graduate from BYU
Sept. 2004- Andrew begins his masters’ program at American University
May 2006- Andrew graduates from AU
Sept. 2006- Andrew begins his second masters' degree at Johns Hopkins
May 2009- Andrew graduates from JHU
Of course some other major events occurred, but the point is, Andrew has been in school for (count em) 9 straight years.
Last Friday was Andrew’s graduation from Johns Hopkins University. I don’t think I realized how proud I have been until I watched him walk across the stage to receive this last diploma. When we graduated from BYU I was too busy being proud of myself to even give Andrew much thought. He chose not attend his AU graduation, so there really wasn’t much closure or reflection there. But this graduation seemed different- mostly because it will be his last and there seemed to be some finality to it all, like a huge chapter in our lives has been closed.
Based off of my observations, I would say that this is the degree Andrew has enjoyed the most. The late nights have been hard, but the course work interesting (at least to him) and relevant to his work. There were many occasions where he would come home and excitedly try to explain things like “credit derivatives” to me (if there ever was a lost cause, this would have been it).
Although I was simply a bystander during this whole schooling process, it feels good to have Andrew done. Both of our parents were able to attend the graduation, along with his brother Peter and our children. The biggest sacrifice of the day came from Sammy who had to miss his own preschool graduation on account of his father's graduation (I'm joking about the sacrifice part). It really was a lovely graduation, and again, Congratulations Andrew!
