Graduation: the day I never thought would come

 

I finally graduated from BYU! (About time, I was only there from 2003-2013, then teaching in 2014). I'm soooooo glad I made it to walk in graduation (thank you Baby B for holding out), it was a highlight for sure!!

Commencement:


I look ginormous here



Maryam and I worked in the same lab for 5 years. Here we are lining up for Commencement.



Mike graduated the same day! Here he is lining up for Commencement.


Here I am on the FRONT ROW!!! at commencement :)




Good grief my hair looked amazing! (I say that because since I have had Baby B-9.5 months ago-my hair has been sooooooo terrible and I have enormous baggies under my eyes. I have aged approx 30 years overnight!

Though I have a few regrets, a) a bit sad, or more like horrifically devestated, that I did not get a soft cap, b) no colorful robe, and c) graduation was lacking bagpipes and was held in the Wilk where I have eaten lunch just about every day for ten years, wearing a robe and hood was truly charming. :)


 The Ph.D graduates got to walk in first (yes, I felt spectacularly cool, yes, I am a nerd) and when we walked across the stage had a paragraph about us read (spectacularly cool moment number 2). Here is my paragraph-O helped me write it up :)

Rebecca Elizabeth “Betsy” Olsen

Betsy’s research has focused on nano materials. In particular, she has synthesized and characterized high surface area stabilized nano titania supports of controlled pore diameters. She has dispersed platinum onto these supports using industrially viable processes. Titania is used in many applications such as photocatalysis and as a support material for noble metals in a number of oxidative synthesis and pollution-control reactions. Stabilized titanias produced in Betsy’s work demonstrated equivalent or higher thermal stability and surface area than previously reported in scientific literature. Betsy has enjoyed teaching chemistry at BYU this semester and hopes to open a candy store one day. She and her husband are expecting their first child, a baby boy, any day. 

The Dean read the paragraph and he even added in that he would love to come to my candy store-I nearly died of delight right there on the stage-and then my adviser hooded me. Despite the lack of bagpipes, there was plenty of pomp and circumstance and I loved every minute of it all! (OK, to be honest, I had a hard time sitting in my chair as they read through the undergrad names, I really wondered if I was going to pass out. But, I was 39 weeks pregnant so you have to give me a break!)

Here is a play by play so you can all remember every moment with me!

My wonderful family came down to celebrate. We also had several other graduates in the family that day and all celebrated together with a Cafe Rio catered luncheon at Jed and Kathy's condo.

 O's parents came down from Idaho!

 My niece on O's side. She is at BYU this year!

 Me and my advisor. I worked in Brian Woodfield's lab for many wonderful years :)

 We should win a prize for being the biggest BYU fans ever! All family members (with the exception of M who is presently a BYU undergrad) graduated from BYU!

 L was off to Mike's graduation so we missed her in the BYU siblings pic :)

I sooooo love graduation. One of the best parts about being faculty is that I can dress up in robes and go twice a year! However, if I really start going twice a year I could see myself making a move to get a soft cap. :) And next time, I will choose a school with extremely flamboyantly colored robes!