It is hard to believe that it has been a little less than 2 years since we left Perth and made the trip to Provo to start in the MBA program at BYU. While we have packed a lot into that period, I am amazed that it has gone by so quickly and is now finished. I had pretty high expectations going in, and am amazed at how much those expectations have been exceeded. To now be leaving and moving on brings some very mixed emotions.
Esther has been an amazing support through this entire experience and pushed me so many times when I could have easily fallen into my usual pattern of complacency.
As is to be expected here, the graduation is a BIG event. On the Thursday, we had the graduation ceremony for all of Brigham Young University and the Marriott Centre was packed with more than 20,000 in attendance. For this ceremony, all graduates entered the Marriott Centre and were addressed by Elder Christofferson of the Quorom of the Twelve.
Fortunately at this ceremony there were no certificates handed out. With something like 7,000 total graduates school-wide, this would have been a very long, tedious process.
It was so much fun to have Aunty Margaret and Uncle Karl visit us and attend the graduation. We loved having them with us for such an occasion, and it was so nice to have family members come from so far away for this event.
When we were ordering our gowns, I noticed the option for International students to order a sash with their national flag on it. I couldn't pass up the chance to don the Australian flag and so ordered this sash along with the rest of the gear.
Graduation day also happened to be Uncle Karl's birthday and so we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner to celebrate and had a great meal.
It is hard to believe that it has been a little less than 2 years since we left Perth and made the trip to Provo to start in the MBA program at BYU. While we have packed a lot into that period, I am amazed that it has gone by so quickly and is now finished. I had pretty high expectations going in, and am amazed at how much those expectations have been exceeded. To now be leaving and moving on brings some very mixed emotions.
Esther has been an amazing support through this entire experience and pushed me so many times when I could have easily fallen into my usual pattern of complacency.
As is to be expected here, the graduation is a BIG event. On the Thursday, we had the graduation ceremony for all of Brigham Young University and the Marriott Centre was packed with more than 20,000 in attendance. For this ceremony, all graduates entered the Marriott Centre and were addressed by Elder Christofferson of the Quorom of the Twelve.
Fortunately at this ceremony there were no certificates handed out. With something like 7,000 total graduates school-wide, this would have been a very long, tedious process.
It was so much fun to have Aunty Margaret and Uncle Karl visit us and attend the graduation. We loved having them with us for such an occasion, and it was so nice to have family members come from so far away for this event.
When we were ordering our gowns, I noticed the option for International students to order a sash with their national flag on it. I couldn't pass up the chance to don the Australian flag and so ordered this sash along with the rest of the gear.
Graduation day also happened to be Uncle Karl's birthday and so we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner to celebrate and had a great meal.
When we arrived home, the children and some neighbours had put up a sign on the door congratulating me. They were very proud of their dad, which was really nice.
The kids loved all the attention they got from their extra set of grandparents and were very sad to see them leave. Isaac stayed outside waving until well after their car was out of sight.
Unfortunately, despite being done with all school work, I was still a little stressed and preoccupied on the Thursday night with what lay ahead the next day...
