Josh gets his degree
Simon Fraser University has this system where they hold Convocation in the middle of the semester after you earn your degree. So Josh walked last week in the October Convocation for the Master's degree that he earned in July. We hadn't really thought to go to Convocation, but some friends said it was worth it, so he signed up and rented the regalia and did the whole thing.
Here he is in full costume:
The ceremony was held up at the main SFU campus in Burnaby, commonly known as being "up on the mountain", since it sits at 1,200 ft overlooking the Lower Mainland. And, as lucky would have it, it was one of the coldest days of the year so far. I'm not sure how cold it was during the afternoon ceremony, but that evening it go down to 3 degrees Celsius (~37 Fahrenheit). Convocation is held out doors, for some largely mysterious reason, and even with a winter coat + the provided woolen blankets + 2 cups of tea, I was frozen in my chair. Josh got to wait in a line inside for the lead-up to the ceremony, and processed in following the "World Champion" SFU Pipe band. The ceremony itself was very interesting, with the Chancellor and President giving interesting speeches on the state of the world. It basically boiled down to "The world's all fucked up, a lot of it is America's fault, and...good luck graduates!" So that was interesting. Overall, I'm glad we went. It was cool to see Josh walk and get his degree, and it made me wish I had done so for my Master's degree at UCSD. We got to see a preview of what getting our doctorates would look like: red robes, blue and silver hoods, and big floppy blue hats with feathers in them! Can't wait.
Here's Josh out of regalia, looking pretty dapper:
Full album is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtanenbaum/sets/72157608007716669/
Also, Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
ETA: Battlestar Galactica fans may recognize the backdrops in some of these photos as various portions of Caprica City. In particular, the area with the water was used in the scenes where Gaius and #6 are strolling around the marketplace, pre-Cylon attack. And portions of the stairs/Convocation mall where the procession and ceremony take place are used in the episodes where Starbuck returns to Earth to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo.
Here he is in full costume:
The ceremony was held up at the main SFU campus in Burnaby, commonly known as being "up on the mountain", since it sits at 1,200 ft overlooking the Lower Mainland. And, as lucky would have it, it was one of the coldest days of the year so far. I'm not sure how cold it was during the afternoon ceremony, but that evening it go down to 3 degrees Celsius (~37 Fahrenheit). Convocation is held out doors, for some largely mysterious reason, and even with a winter coat + the provided woolen blankets + 2 cups of tea, I was frozen in my chair. Josh got to wait in a line inside for the lead-up to the ceremony, and processed in following the "World Champion" SFU Pipe band. The ceremony itself was very interesting, with the Chancellor and President giving interesting speeches on the state of the world. It basically boiled down to "The world's all fucked up, a lot of it is America's fault, and...good luck graduates!" So that was interesting. Overall, I'm glad we went. It was cool to see Josh walk and get his degree, and it made me wish I had done so for my Master's degree at UCSD. We got to see a preview of what getting our doctorates would look like: red robes, blue and silver hoods, and big floppy blue hats with feathers in them! Can't wait.
Here's Josh out of regalia, looking pretty dapper:
Full album is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtanenbaum/sets/72157608007716669/
Also, Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
ETA: Battlestar Galactica fans may recognize the backdrops in some of these photos as various portions of Caprica City. In particular, the area with the water was used in the scenes where Gaius and #6 are strolling around the marketplace, pre-Cylon attack. And portions of the stairs/Convocation mall where the procession and ceremony take place are used in the episodes where Starbuck returns to Earth to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo.