Hello everyone,
Welcome back to my blog. Today I want to recap my recent graduation from THE 🙂 Ohio State University (in case you don’t know, it’s like a requirement that people to refer to OSU this way… lol!)
I was a commuter student of the university, as I didn’t live on campus for the majority of my time in school. In some ways, I wasn’t as involved in campus events as I could have been. So when the commencement week events rolled around, I was determined to make the most of the finish to my college career.
The Friday before graduation, we had our scheduled rehearsal, which I attended. It was really helpful in preparing for the ceremony. Despite having to wait for everyone to be seated, it was a fairly quick ordeal. Afterwards, the “Time & Change” tailgate was held, and I got some free food, t-shirts, and alumni association swag. My favorite keepsake from the event was the caricature I had done.
The next night, a tradition called the “Candlelight Ceremony” was held. The event had a featured student speaker, along with the president of the university and another guest keynote, who I assume is different year-to-year. A slideshow was shown, and then the actually act of candle lighting took place. Essentially, one candle is lit and is touched wick-to-wick with other candles to pass on the “light” of knowledge found on our university’s emblem. Because of concerns for rain, the event was held inside with artificial candles (it is usually outside with real candles). The ceremony is completed with the singing of “Carmen Ohio,” our alma mater, by candlelight.
The next day’s the big day: graduation. The students met in a couple of locations and had to walk over to the “Shoe,” or the stadium in which commencement was held. The organizers did very well, checking that we were all in the correct order several times. They also congratulated us with kazoos and bells as we exited the location to head over to the Shoe.
As we were walking, I noticed a girl with her aide dog who had his own graduation cap! It was so adorable.
Before we headed in, I made sure to check my hair, makeup, and that there was no lipstick on my teeth in order to look my best for the big day. Front-facing cams are the best for this!
As we began processing into the stadium, it was amazing to see all of the other graduates. The class of 2016 was the largest graduating class to date on record for OSU, and I was so honored to be a part of that.
When we began entering the stadium, it was overwhelming to see the amount of guests in attendance. As I walked in staring at the stands, an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, humility, and gratitude filled my heart. It was as if all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my degree culminated into the triumph of that moment. I was truly in awe.
It took a while for all the graduates to enter, so the crowd entertained themselves by performing a “wave,” and doing various OSU chants. This 412th commencement began with a prelude from the university’s wind symphony, followed by a welcome to all the guests. It was after this time that we processed in. Then came the invocation, national anthem, and the commencement address. The address was followed by the awarding of degrees for the graduate students. Distinguished service awards were given, and we were all welcomed into the family of alumni which includes over half a million others. We then sang Carmen Ohio one final time, and proceeded to receive our degrees from our corresponding deans on the football field. The ceremony in it’s entirety took about two and a half hours or so.
And I think that about does it for my recap! I know it can be intimidating to not know what to expect for such an important occasion, so feel free to ask any questions down in the comments if you are an upcoming OSU grad yourself!
Stay tuned, as I will be sharing a lookbook of what I wore. If you’d like to see me replicate my makeup look too, let me know!
Go Bucks!
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