Commencement

This post, Dear Reader, will show my niece, Lydia (aka Magna Cum Laude Graduate) walking across the stage to accept her degree from Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.  First, however, she must get into her regalia and line up with the hundreds of other candidates to join the Academic Procession.









And our jolly, just-finished-brunch bunch who is here to watch and cheer must get in gear and go to the tent to claim our seats for the ceremony.



Already, an hour and a half before the two o'clock start time, spots are being claimed.  Only family members (we are told) who are there in person are allowed to reserve seats; no clothing or other items are to be left as security.

However, see here, Viewer Dear, someone cleverly left food on the chairs to reserve their seats; fortunately, our group was not hungry!  We made our way beyond the edibles, and laid claim to eight vacant seats in a row.  

After the long wait, during which we all took turns walking around, taking (more) photos of the beautiful buildings and the beautiful day and the beautiful graduates and...well...each other and the tent full of people...the procession began.  It was led by the Valley Forge Highland Band.

The bagpipers were rousing, but it was a lengthy process for three hundred and some faculty and students to march into the tent and be seated.  (However, the afternoon was still young, as well as most of the students! ) We eagerly awaited the address by Dr. Mae C. Jemison,  First African American Woman in Space, Engineer, Physician, Entrepreneur .

Here are two short clips:

The address was relatively short. The really BIG event was coming up next, and it was bound to stretch out the program.

One by one, the twenty-one page list of graduates walked the stage and received their well-earned degrees.  Our graduate, Lydia, was on page 18 (of the list), so we had a very long wait.  It was filled with applause, and cheering, and graduates crossing the stage (as well as hearing the names and degrees [reading the names from around the world when applause prevented hearing])

At long last, the moment arrived!  It was Lydia's turn to walk!

Just look here, Viewer Dear:

We were all bursting with pride!
In addition, after more than three hours of sitting, we were all excited to exit the tent (bagpipers, celebrating graduates, celebrating faculty, celebrating president of the college and guest speaker, celebrating family and friends, celebrating security and staff [I'm taking some things on assumption])!  The cheering, photo-taking, and a grand joie de vivre were certainly to be expected! 

"Would you kindly help us out?" I asked a passer-by, and handed off the camera.

And then, too, expected was the Garden Party!
What started out in the morning looking like this,

now awaited the groups carrying balloons and flowers and champagne*!

*And in our case, big beautiful strawberries, too; along with the champagne they were carried carefully all the way from Virginia by the Father Magna Cum Laude of a Magna Cum Laude Graduate.

The shadows on the lawn were beginning to lengthen, and the celebrating bunch had been treated* to a celebratory school cheer by two (and more) celebrating graduates. 

There was just one more bout of celebrating to come, Reader Dear.

(But because it's getting late,
and I'm reluctant for this delightful day to be over, I'm going to continue on to the next blog post...

See you there!


(to be continued...)

************

*Yes, cajoled by me, I'm proud to say,
callooh, callay!
Thanks, Lydia!
For the cheer,
and for making me part of your
very special day!