About four years ag
o, I graduated with my associate’s degree from Rogue Community College! I still well remember that graduation ceremony, because it was going to be the first degree I would receive from an American school. That meant a lot to me and my family because I had worked hard to get there.
We were about 250 students who graduated that year, and it was a beautiful day. Many of those whom I had invited had come to see me walk across the stage that I had been dreaming about. Crowds were cheering and many graduates were wiping away tears realizing that their efforts were finally being crowned with a degree. I admit, I had tears in my eyes too; I was very happy, but I also knew that my journey was not going to stop there!
My next goal was to get my bachelor’s from Southern Oregon University. Years pass by very fast, and there I was two and a half years later on the graduation stage again in Ashland, Oregon. However, unlike the first graduation, this one did not hold the same excitement for some strange reason! Soon after graduation, I came to Portland State University for my master’s. It seems like I just got here last term, when in fact I will be walking on my graduation commencement this June. As for the ceremony, if it wasn’t for the special people who have promised to come see me, I would have probably stayed home. The enthusiasm is just not there; and I know that when I go and they call my name, I may not even be able to tell it is my name because the readers are sure to struggle to pronounce it!