Seems like Meego's been getting much mention with his shaved head, percussion state champeenship and awards, and prom. Chaco clearly tried to move to the top by getting hit by a car. Well, we do have that other guy too. Remember Wolfgang?
He is now Wolfgang with a Bachelor's degree. So shout out to him!
Last week, he and his team presented their Senior design project (mechanical engineering). I know he was relieved to get that finished - and working! It's sort of a culmination of the four years of sweating through the program.
Magnum and I went to the university to check out his team's display along with the other projects. Here's Wolf with the team and their "Third Eye", which is a cool training device for rifle shooting athletes to shoot more accurately and consistently.
Okay, I said it's Wolf and the team, but I guess it's mainly Wolf, three of the team, and an arm of the fifth member. Go team!
The spring graduation ceremony is today, and Wolfgang's been going back and forth on whether or not he would attend. At last check, he'd decided not to. Then I got a text from him yesterday afternoon.
A few more texts, he'd decided the cost and the time wouldn't really be worth it to him. I left it up to him, we'd go if he decided to cap 'n' gown up. It's nice to be right here and have that easy option.
After he decided on "not", I told him that I'd never regretted not going to mine, which is true. And Magnum, in hindsight, has said he'd rather not have gone. It was pretty impersonal. Chaco decided not to attend his ceremony a year ago. Geez, whatta buncha party poopers!
I know for many, walking at graduation is an important step. I myself tear up when I see people who have overcome many challenges, receive a diploma, wearing cap and gown. But it's not like we won't whoop it up, we just don't need a long ceremony with speeches we won't remember to commemorate the achievement.
In fact, I truly remember very little about Magnum's except for how impersonal it was - him sitting there in a sea of other graduates. And I truly never regretted not attending my ceremony. I still got the dang diploma.
But I DO remember finishing that final design project (Magnum and I are also both Mech enginerds). As we walked around looking at the results of those students' hard work, it brought me back. The long hours coming up with ideas, fixing things that didn't work, not sleeping, swearing... I remember one of my teammates, who was married, lamenting,
"I'm at the engineering center so much, my wife thinks I'm having an affair"
"Are you?", I asked jokingly
"I WISH!", he replied, jokingly (I think)
I said to Magnum, last week as we walked around the different displays, "Brings me back to the good ol' days"
"Well, maybe just the 'ol' days'", he corrected.
Okay, maybe I mainly remember the good parts. I told Wolfgang that, in our eyes, last week's presentation is the way bigger deal, and he rocked it. Hopefully, the good parts will be what Wolfgang remembers too. And not that he didn't wear a gown.
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4 comments:
It's always good to remember the good parts.
I didn't go to my high school or college graduation. I dislike ceremonies and crowds. Somehow, I ended up organizing events at work ;)
Can't say I remember much of my graduation either, I guess it's true that we remember the good parts, and he will remember his.
I'm not big on ceremonies either, they often seem so... pomp and circumstance. You, however, have skillz on the event organizing!
Maybe we should poll people on their memories of their graduation ceremonies vs. the work toward getting there.
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