Company - Convocation

I have been really behind in my blogging that I almost forgot to write about my convocation. It was an amazing experience and I'm extremely thankful that so many of my friends made it even though it felt as if time stood still during the event. I will always remember the energy standing in the Olympic Oval waiting to get my gown with the whole room buzzing from excitement and panic. It really was thrilling and I kept trying to find some familiar faces like Stephanie Tse, who of course was late as usual and strolled in only 15 minutes before the ceremony was to start. After all the graduates were in position, they played "Beautiful Day" by U2 and all the staff cheered, which was extremely exhilarating and helped amp up the excitement. Actually, I was amazed by how polite everyone was during the whole day, even the crossing guards congratulated everyone as they headed to the Jack Simpson Gymnasium.

Once all the graduates were seated, the event finally began. The speeches were somewhat forgettable but I did appreciate how Harvey Weingarten managed to mention Twitter in his speech since it was a trend of the moment that will certainly date the event when I look back on it. Although the ceremony dragged on, I felt as if the moment I walked across the stage breezed by that I didn't fully appreciate the experience.

I was so concentrated on not falling and trying to crack a nice smile on the giant screen that I barely remember hearing my name. I was so glad that Ryan Lee pronounced it "Cheng" and not "Chung", so I am grateful that my name wasn't butchered unlike my chum, Va-nee-ah Sze. Plus, I even managed to hear the "with distinction", which I worked so hard to obtain. I also really appreciated the conversations with the Chancellor but I feel somewhat guilty since I was more interested in smiling for the picture than chatting with her. Anyways, once I got off the stage, we were rushed to take another picture which passed by in a blur.

Now it was all over and I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the show. It was definitely interesting to finally put some names to the anonymous faces from my classes and I loved being able to cheer for my friends and fellow graduates. Of course, I did boo for my enemies including the ghastly Stephanie Tse and the foul Terry Wong.

Finally, the ceremony was over and I spent the rest of the day taking pictures with my classmates, friends, and family. My favorite part was throwing the mortar board and in my opinion, we got some pretty awesome shots of our fun. I also managed to catch up with so many people that I haven't seen for quite some time, some of whom I've known before University and some that I had the privilege to meet in Haskayne.

I can't believe that anyone would want to skip out on convocation because even though the ceremony was dreadfully boring and there was the fuss with all those rental fees, I just wouldn't have missed it for the world. The whole tradition of the event and being able to celebrate your achievement with all your friends and family is absolutely worth it and convocation is simply the epitome of how I would define COOP "Company". Now enjoy some of my favorite photos from the day!