Harvard graduation!

Yesterday was a beautiful day! Timo graduated from Harvard with a Master's degree. I am thrilled to have finished the program, and glad that the LONG day is over.

It all started at 4:30 a.m., with Caroline babbling up a storm in her crib. My parents arrived at 6:15, and my Dad and I drove to Cambridge for the morning graduation exercise in Harvard Yard's Tercentenary Theatre.

6:30 a.m., outside our house.

Becky and my mom stayed at our house with Caroline for the morning. My school's graduation ceremony wouldn't start until 1:30, and that'd be far too long of a day for Caro. My dad and I had to be in Harvard Square by 7 a.m. for a breakfast reception at the Extension School. It was so cool! Graduates-to-be in caps and gowns were all over the place, trailed by proud parents, spouses, friends, etc. It was such a festive feeling.

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At 7:30, the 300+ Extension School grads marched through Harvard Square as a lone bagpiper led our way.

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By 8:00, we arrived in Harvard Yard. We processed onto a patch of green lawn behind two beautiful academic buildings, and there we waited with students from other Harvard schools, such as the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health. All of us then spend the next 45-60 minutes just standing around, as thousands of guests pour into (or on) any nook, cranny, uncovered sewer hole, closest-to-the-ground tree limb, light fixture, door hinge, policeman's shoulder, and any other object, no matter how small or cramped, that will give them even a millimeter-wide view of the proceedings.

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By 9:15, we all started filing into Tercentenary Theater, a massive green lawn surrounded by buildings and canopied by trees. This was very exciting, because I think extreme lethargy had infected 95% of all graduates-to-be, and entropy was mere moments away for many of us. The crowd of over 33,000 (yes, 33 thousand) people erupted in cheers as graduates from the Business School, Design School, School of Education, Law School, the Kennedy School of Government (have I named all of the Harvard schools by now?) marched in.

As we took our seats, a line of dignitaries marched right down the middle of the two columns of students. I saw former Harvard U. President Larry Summers, current President Drew Gilpin Faust, deans from other schools, and some other famous Harvard people. And then I saw:

The 6-foot, 18-inch or whatever Bill Russell (11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, who received an honorary degree) and, two people in front of him, Microsoft founder Bill Gates (Harvard's most famous drop-out). Gates is in the middle of the photo above.

The ceremony began, and it was actually entertaining. It wasn't the drone-fest of self-congratulatory praises and long, "listen to how well I can speak" lectures. A student opened the exercise in Latin, then there were some hymns, then another student gave an address in which he compared John Harvard to a Jedi Master and students' experiences at the school to the Jedi Academy, with tons of "Star Wars" references. The best thing was that this address was entirely in Latin, too. We had a translation in our program book. If we didn't, I think the only word 99.7% of the people could have understood would have been "Chewbacca."

Students, students everywhere!

This next part was neat and, at times, registered high on the "chill factor" of stirring moments. Each school's dean stood up to announce his or her graduating class from their school (i.e., the B School), and then the master of ceremonies would confer the degree on each class. There were special words addressed to each school. For the Law School, it was something like, "Now go and prosecute the wide restraints of the law that make us free." For the School of Public Health, it was something like, "Continue in the noble work of saving lives," etc., etc.

What was also cool was that most schools had an inflatable emblem that students raised and held high as their dean addressed them. The Dental School hoisted a massive inflatable toothbrush (I took a picture, but it's too blury). The Law School had dozens of small gavels. The School of Public Health tossed blown-up surgical gloves in the air. Above, the Education School grads raised books in the air and cheered.

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By 11:30, the morning exercise was over. Columns of students scattered throughout Harvard Yard, as the masses of guests scurried to meet their graduates. I walked through Harvard Square to meet up with Becky, Caro, and my parents (my Dad decided to drive back to get them, as parking was non-existent within a half-mile radius). While strolling through the area, I saw this man. How is he walking the streets of Cambridge a free man?!

BAGPIPES!

If you enjoy men in dresses, puffy cheeks, precision drumming, and the lilting, harmonious, gentle sounds of this marvelous instrument (sarcasm, please!), this was the place for you, my friend!

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Okay, but how did the rest of the day turn out? And when will this post end?!

Timo met up with his family around 12pm, and was so thankful that his wife brought along a sandwich. We found the theatre for my school's graduation ceremony, and then I had to leave for yet another reception at 12:45. We had some snacks and mingled before lining up to march half-a-block to our theatre. It was a cozy place and there were about 500 guests there to watch us get our diplomas.

Disclaimer: My dad might have photos from the graduation; I don't. If I get 'em, I'll post 'em.

The ceremony was great, and I walked across the stage with Caroline in my arm (and Becky's hand-made graduation cap on Caroline). People oooh'd and aaah'd and chuckled seeing Caroline in her cap. Dr. Sue Weaver Schopf, the director of the Extension School Master's program, announced my name, then added, "and his companion!"

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I was one of only 14 History majors graduating this year. The Dean of the Extension School stated that, in the 97-year history of the program, less than 1% of people who enroll in the Extension School finish their degree requirements and graduate. (and No, there should not be an extra number after the "1" in 1%). The student speaker quoted from poet Seamus Heaney's Villanelle for an Anniversary, written for Harvard's 350th anniversary, and which contains references to "the gates unbarred."

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An hour later, it was all done, and I am officially graduated! Here are some photos from the splendid post-ceremony affair:

Timo with his fondest and fiercest fans, 4:00 yesterday afternoon in John F. Kennedy Park at the JFK School of Government.

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What a day! And what a family of great supporters! I could not have done this without you! It was a perfect day for a graduation, too: mid-70's, sunny, with almost no humidity. I'll always remember this day.