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Last night...
Last night at the awards ceremony, after they'd bestowed upon everyone their graduation certificates from the department, it was time for the special awards. The Director got up and said a few words about how difficult it was to choose a winner this year, etc, and he wanted everyone to get to see a few examples of what the candidates had been through. So he called 3 people up to the stage...I was the first one, then a woman I'd had in one of my classes last semester, and a third woman I'd never met before. He started kind of interviewing me there on the stage, and was jacking up my history like crazy, so finally I moved to the microphone and gave everyone the run down from the point where he'd stopped trying to explain things. He asked a few more questions, and everyone applauded, and then he moved on to Brenda, the lady next to me who I knew.
Brenda's story in a nutshell was that she's beaten cancer, and helped start an international study program, and she's been to Jamaica and South Africa with this program, and helped to start an orphanage in So. Africa. Uhh. Yeah. I looked down at myself and wondered WTF was I doing up there.
The third lady's story was that she'd lost 4 of her close relatives within a couple of years, had joined the Air Force, and was now serving as Director of Security at the airport. Uhh. Yeah. Again, I wondered WTF was I doing up there.
The Director had kind of hinted at the beginning that maybe everyone could help decide who should get the Outstanding Student award, so then I was wondering if we were going to be put to a clapping vote or something. I totally felt like freaking Scott on American Idol, hah. I thought I didn't stand a chance in hell.
But as the Director went on to explain, the Outstanding Student award is intended to go to the person who best exemplifies what the PACE program is all about...it's about overcoming obstacles, and having that can-do spirit that you need to get things done and succeed. And as all three of us had been through some pretty intense times, and STILL managed to graduate with honors (I was Summa, Brenda was Magna, and the other lady was just plain Cum Laude, but that's still rockin')...all three of us deserved this honor. So for the first time ever, there was a three-way tie for the award, and all three of us got it. :)
The certificate was framed in a really nice presentation frame...the frame runs about $125 in the bookstore, I think...and I was blown away. I drove down to C's, as he and his dad weren't able to attend the ceremony, due to them having to work around the clock to get the wiring done in the basement before the drywall people show up tomorrow, and I showed off my award and he took pictures. Got home about 11pm, sent the kids to bed, and crashed.
I brought the award in to work today to show my close friends. I'm pretty damn excited about it. I think it's interesting how life just kind of keeps on going, and how you just deal with things as they come, and it really doesn't seem like you're doing anything all that extraordinary by keepin' on. But when you pile everything up into a big stack, it's kind of impressive. Then again, I think everyone in that room should have won a similar award. We all deserved one.
Brenda's story in a nutshell was that she's beaten cancer, and helped start an international study program, and she's been to Jamaica and South Africa with this program, and helped to start an orphanage in So. Africa. Uhh. Yeah. I looked down at myself and wondered WTF was I doing up there.
The third lady's story was that she'd lost 4 of her close relatives within a couple of years, had joined the Air Force, and was now serving as Director of Security at the airport. Uhh. Yeah. Again, I wondered WTF was I doing up there.
The Director had kind of hinted at the beginning that maybe everyone could help decide who should get the Outstanding Student award, so then I was wondering if we were going to be put to a clapping vote or something. I totally felt like freaking Scott on American Idol, hah. I thought I didn't stand a chance in hell.
But as the Director went on to explain, the Outstanding Student award is intended to go to the person who best exemplifies what the PACE program is all about...it's about overcoming obstacles, and having that can-do spirit that you need to get things done and succeed. And as all three of us had been through some pretty intense times, and STILL managed to graduate with honors (I was Summa, Brenda was Magna, and the other lady was just plain Cum Laude, but that's still rockin')...all three of us deserved this honor. So for the first time ever, there was a three-way tie for the award, and all three of us got it. :)
The certificate was framed in a really nice presentation frame...the frame runs about $125 in the bookstore, I think...and I was blown away. I drove down to C's, as he and his dad weren't able to attend the ceremony, due to them having to work around the clock to get the wiring done in the basement before the drywall people show up tomorrow, and I showed off my award and he took pictures. Got home about 11pm, sent the kids to bed, and crashed.
I brought the award in to work today to show my close friends. I'm pretty damn excited about it. I think it's interesting how life just kind of keeps on going, and how you just deal with things as they come, and it really doesn't seem like you're doing anything all that extraordinary by keepin' on. But when you pile everything up into a big stack, it's kind of impressive. Then again, I think everyone in that room should have won a similar award. We all deserved one.