From the Editor's Computer
Last week my family went up to Athabasca to attend my sister’s convocation
ceremony at Athabasca University, where she was officially presented with her
Bachelor of General Studies (Arts & Sciences) degree. Congratulations Mary!
There were differences from when we attended
my convocation ceremony in Athabasca five short years ago. When I
convocated there were only 300+ graduates over two days. This year there were 1,100+ graduates over
three days. As the graduates are
literally from all over the world, not all are in attendance. Five years ago people were fainting because
it was such a blistering hot day. This
year we wore coats and dodged rain drops.
Five years ago the Masters degrees were still new, thus the number of graduates
were small. This year the Masters degree
recipients were in the hundreds, and the University is talking about their
plans to add many more degree options by 2015, including the possibility of
Doctorate degrees.
There were also similarities between the two
special days...The welcoming atmosphere wherever you go on the grounds...The
extra effort on the part of the university to have gorgeous bouquets and
planters of flowers everywhere...The personal touch they add to the events of
the day so that everyone feels included in the wonder and excitement the
graduates are feeling...The biographical information they share about each
graduate so that you can know them all.
It truly does not take much to make people
feel special and appreciated.
Beth
To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.
