Graduation

Hello all,

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We just got back from Illinois, so I'm going to take some time and write a few posts about our trip.

We'll start with Susie's (aka Dr. Spangler's) graduation!

We rolled into Bloomington Friday night after an 8-hour drive and a brief stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Our friend Marcy graciously hosted a little get together for everyone who was back in town for the graduation ceremony the next day. We got to see some friends and professors and stuff ourselves with holiday party food. We spent most of the night sharing stories and laughing so hard we cried. It was so much fun to have the gang back together again.

The next morning we were up early and off to Redbird Arena. Susie was looking dashing in her cap and gown and you could practically feel the excitement in the air. Rachel and some friends took their seats and were only interrupted briefly by an annoying woman scolding them for whispering as the graduates entered (as if). We all cheered loudly when Susie, her advisor and friends walked in, which is a little tacky but we couldn't resist.

Dr. Spangler was called to the stage pretty early since the Ph.D.s get hooded first. The announcer read her name an area of interest as well as the title of her dissertation and then her Committee Chair/Advisor/Professor, Jan, added the "hood" to her regalia. Even though she'd technically had her Ph.D. for several months, this was the final ceremonial step in a very long journey. Rachel was brimming with pride as she shakily video taped the entire thing!

After the ceremony Rachel ran into two of her PRIDE students from ISU. It's always nice to see students succeed, especially these two, who have been friends as well as students. Sergio and Talia stopped for hugs and pictures before heading off to party.

From there we met up with Susie's family and celebrated with a fantabulous lunch at Biaggi's, which is a great Italian restaurant in Bloomington. Not a bad way to commemorate 4 years of hard work.

It was a great day, and the celebrations stretched into the night, but those are stories for another post.