Final Steps Before Graduation

Today's entry will definitely be short since graduation is tomorrow. As I'm sure I've said many times before, I will be sad to see this class leave, but I'm excited for the new opportunities that they will receive.

As the last full day the Academy is "open", we had a lot of time that was scheduled to be unscheduled. I moved a handful of students out, although it still feels like my wing is basically all here since I still have the seniors, the first-years who are moving out tomorrow morning, and all the students taking the 3am Sunday airport shuttle. That group does have the benefit of some extra time to pack and clean, but at the same time, I've had to be the parental figure to get going and not be distracted.

We had a graduation rehearsal this morning and everyone was soaked during the walk over, even though it turned to clear skies and sun by the time the rehearsal was over. The rest of the day was pretty open-ended until the graduation banquet. I was kicking myself when it was all said and done because I didn't look through the final final podium script and my outdated PPT meant that we didn't recognize a couple of students for volunteer work they did over Spring Break. The end-of-the-year awards were also out of order, and the issue with skipping the volunteering recognition meant that I just felt nervous with my own club/organization speeches. In the end, they were only minor hiccups and I wasn't the only one to have a hiccup AND the students who did the Spring Break volunteering also were in several clubs and received prestigious end-of-the-year awards for overall success. Wow, *that* is a run-on sentence. To be honest though, I felt like today went pretty well outside of that issue.

After the banquet, I worked the final desk shift of the year (and that's going for all RCs because we will be running around tomorrow) and hung out with some students one final time. We were the "stay in" crowd by playing Clue, since other students went out for ice cream or late night appetizers. For the students that weren't packing, they wanted to have one last fun night and I think everyone found something to hit the spot.

Closing up the first floor made me think back to two years ago - (italics indicate the flashback) I was finishing up my second year of being an RC and it was the night before graduation. The class I had entered in with was about to graduate and as I locked up the lounge and common areas, I thought back to the memories of those two years and it was emotionally stirring. While I didn't feel as emotional closing up the desk tonight, I did think back over the past two years and was really proud of how the students had grown and the challenges that they overcame. I don't have the all-staff meetings on Tuesdays in the summer, but I think I already know what my variation blog will be for next Tuesday.

Well, since it is graduation tomorrow, I need the rest. I'm starting the day off by letting the caterer in and wrapping the day up with seeing my international seniors one final time. It will certainly be a long day, but it's worth it.

TC

With it being a big crunch time, I'm okay with not paying attention to the holidays during the day. However, today was Heat Awareness Safety Day, which I feel was appropriate for today considering the packing/heavy lifting in our heat sink of a building. Plus, getting dressed up for the banquet certainly made things feel warmer than my "room check action gear".

TC

Alright, bed time. Seriously. Good night. DFTBA.