Higher Learning, Indeed

From the very first day of higher learning, I was quite unimpressed. Heck, the school wasn't that far from my high school, and it wasn't much bigger, either. Not many folks lived on campus... it wasn't exactly a party school... most of the students were alot like me - suburban westsiders with a Catholic background... College felt like 13th grade.

And my opinion didn't change much in 4 years. I wasn't all that impressed with many of my business professors. It wasn't the big social experiment that college was supposed to be. My lasting impression of this specific college is "waaaaaaay too expensive for a continuation of public high school."

I graduated from Mount St Joe on Saturday, May 10, 2003. This is not a difficult day to remember, as it was exactly one week prior to my wedding day. The graduation part is easy to forget, however, because I didn't walk. That was the most convenient day to have my bachelor party, so I decided long before May 10 that I'd just have to get the diploma at a later date.

The diploma wasn't the first thing on my mind, as May 10 was smack dab in the middle of a 6-week season in which (1) Robyn and I bought a house, (2) I finished classes and graduated college, (3) Robyn and I got married, (4) I started my first "professional" full-time job. Thus, I don't remember whether I picked the diploma up, or if they mailed it to me.

As we unpack here tonight, my diploma is found amongst many books and photo albums and other assorted paper products. And I don't think I've looked at it before, because I'm noticing something that only furthers my opinion of my alma mater: along with my diploma, they gave me a commencement program, I assume so that I can see my name alongside my fellow graduates. A nice gesture for a guy who skipped out on a big school event and instead made friends with a keg and strippers (joke), right?

The date on the front of the program? May 11, 2002. My name is nowhere inside. So... at least I have a nice momento of all those who graduated as I finished my junior year.

Note to self: in 16 years, if The Tobe has The Mount on his list of schools, talk him out of it. Unless they can give me a copy of my graduation program. I wouldn't mind having one.