Farewell Oregon Part I: University-Wide Graduation Ceremony

June 18, 2010 - 7:00 PM

On Monday, I graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication.

The day was fabulous. It started early, which was nice. We didn't have to wait for the festivities to begin.

I put on my robe and made my way to pick up the banner that I carried as the Standard Bearer for the journalism school.

Once I arrived in my position on the field outside of Gerlinger Hall, other graduates started to line up behind the banner.

Teachers arrived and took their positions beside me, congratulating me on my honors and telling me what to expect on my graduation trip to Europe.

We processed from the field to Hayward Field, me leading the way with a sail of a banner in my hands. It was heavy and the banner filled with wind, forcing me to cling for dear asthetics.

One of my teachers said that women weren't allowed to carry the banner even as recent as ten years ago because no one thought that they could handle it.

I am a pretty big girl, and I almost couldn't! If it wasn't for the wind, I would have been fine, but it was quite the ordeal. Then, some jackass from the line in front of us said, "Do you need some help with that?" It was condescending and I would have told him off if I wasn't surrounded by professors.

Anyway, I made it to the stage, banner in-hand, and completed my duty as the carrier.

My best friends and I sat in the crowd, half listening to the speakers, but for the most part, just taking in the moment.

After the big ceremony, we had about a half an hour to grab a bite to eat before going to our departmental ceremony.

Jessica, Kinsley, and I left Hayward Field in our caps and gowns, tassels pulled to the left, walking down 15th street arm-in-arm. It was beautiful outside. The sun shone down on us as we talked about how nice it was to just be us for a moment in the chaos of organizing our families around the graduation celebrations.