Officially official fishal fish
As official as official can be, I am now the proud owner of a degree. That is to mean, they sent me the actual piece of paper, complete with Shepherd coloured ribbon. ..wonder how long it’ll take them to realize I still owe them money.
Shepherd person: “Umm, we just noticed you still have a balance on your account. Can you give us back the degree until you fork over those ten dollars?”
Oh, and just a few things now that I graduated and all. Mark Snell is probably one of the biggest dicks I’ve ever met in my life. I wasted most of my college career trying to believe that he might be a decent person (somewhere, deep down) only to get screwed over royally. I hear now that not only is he a douche bag, but he’s also an alcoholic. Perhaps I’d feel a little more sympathy if I didn’t know he brought it on himself. Pushing people to excel is one thing, but pushing them because it makes you think that you might actually have control over your life is another. And you know what? It’s not my problem anymore. Let Shepherd deal with it’s own mistakes - I guess there’s justice in the world after all.
On the other hand, I would very much like to credit the decent professors I’ve encountered that helped me in my journey. People such as:
- Dr. Hanak who made me want to learn about the Byzantine Empire when I never had any prior knowledge, much less interest in the subject. No one but Dr. Hanak could teach the History of boozing and wenching in an Early Christianity course. Just so you know, I never sold back those books. Hanak was - hands down - my all time favourite history professor.
- Dr. Ellzey for her totally fascinating classes (did I mention her Bible as Lit class? AWESOME!) and her kickass theatre group - the Rude Mechanicals to which I owe much sweat, blood, tears and even my boyfriend.
- Dr. Merz for connecting with his students. I had him for psych my Freshman year, and he still says hello to me in the hallway. Not to mention, he is always available if you need advice.
- Dr. Best who taught me that astronomy is MUCH more than just stars and planets - that math is not only not scary, but my best friend in his class. This man went out of his way to make himself available outside of class for the many students who couldn’t wrap their heads around all the physics. I will never forget his amazingly related funny stories, his eerie peripheral vision and STORMBRINGER!
- Dr. Benedict for making me believe that someone actually cares about the students when the system screws us over. I even named my aloe plant after him.
These are only a few of the more academically influential examples, but there’s plenty more to thank such as:
- Vernie, Jackie, Semona, and Dee at the dining hall for making it a pleasant place to visit.
- The Depot for providing a safe haven to meet, watch movies, earn money and cuddle with crazy cats. Not to mention that Margaret was my mentor, my mom away from mom (in both good and bad ways!) and my weird friend with an attitude. Don’t forget that little case of meeting John. :)
- On The Wings of Dreams for providing me with animal companionship that can only be provided by a dog.
- Maggie’s for actually having affordable herbs and an understanding of spiritual need for weird organic hippie stuff.
- Tony, James and Elizabeth for lending an ear while I was making adjustments, especially during my freshman year.
There are some others that don’t come to mind this late at night, but I’m sure they will forgive me.
All in all, it’s refreshing to know that even being the youngest sibling in my family, I am the first to graduate college. These aren't the Tony awards, and I'm not crying, so I can safely say: Congratulations to me!
*CONFETTI!*
Shepherd person: “Umm, we just noticed you still have a balance on your account. Can you give us back the degree until you fork over those ten dollars?”
Oh, and just a few things now that I graduated and all. Mark Snell is probably one of the biggest dicks I’ve ever met in my life. I wasted most of my college career trying to believe that he might be a decent person (somewhere, deep down) only to get screwed over royally. I hear now that not only is he a douche bag, but he’s also an alcoholic. Perhaps I’d feel a little more sympathy if I didn’t know he brought it on himself. Pushing people to excel is one thing, but pushing them because it makes you think that you might actually have control over your life is another. And you know what? It’s not my problem anymore. Let Shepherd deal with it’s own mistakes - I guess there’s justice in the world after all.
On the other hand, I would very much like to credit the decent professors I’ve encountered that helped me in my journey. People such as:
- Dr. Hanak who made me want to learn about the Byzantine Empire when I never had any prior knowledge, much less interest in the subject. No one but Dr. Hanak could teach the History of boozing and wenching in an Early Christianity course. Just so you know, I never sold back those books. Hanak was - hands down - my all time favourite history professor.
- Dr. Ellzey for her totally fascinating classes (did I mention her Bible as Lit class? AWESOME!) and her kickass theatre group - the Rude Mechanicals to which I owe much sweat, blood, tears and even my boyfriend.
- Dr. Merz for connecting with his students. I had him for psych my Freshman year, and he still says hello to me in the hallway. Not to mention, he is always available if you need advice.
- Dr. Best who taught me that astronomy is MUCH more than just stars and planets - that math is not only not scary, but my best friend in his class. This man went out of his way to make himself available outside of class for the many students who couldn’t wrap their heads around all the physics. I will never forget his amazingly related funny stories, his eerie peripheral vision and STORMBRINGER!
- Dr. Benedict for making me believe that someone actually cares about the students when the system screws us over. I even named my aloe plant after him.
These are only a few of the more academically influential examples, but there’s plenty more to thank such as:
- Vernie, Jackie, Semona, and Dee at the dining hall for making it a pleasant place to visit.
- The Depot for providing a safe haven to meet, watch movies, earn money and cuddle with crazy cats. Not to mention that Margaret was my mentor, my mom away from mom (in both good and bad ways!) and my weird friend with an attitude. Don’t forget that little case of meeting John. :)
- On The Wings of Dreams for providing me with animal companionship that can only be provided by a dog.
- Maggie’s for actually having affordable herbs and an understanding of spiritual need for weird organic hippie stuff.
- Tony, James and Elizabeth for lending an ear while I was making adjustments, especially during my freshman year.
There are some others that don’t come to mind this late at night, but I’m sure they will forgive me.
All in all, it’s refreshing to know that even being the youngest sibling in my family, I am the first to graduate college. These aren't the Tony awards, and I'm not crying, so I can safely say: Congratulations to me!
*CONFETTI!*