Day 5 - 125 -- The beginning of the endings

The day ended perfectly. The Farewell to graduating students was held this evening. The ceremony contained wonderful music and short and to the point speeches. The time capsule was filled with fun and interesting items, to be opened at their 10 year reunion. The evening ended with the candle lit honour guard of students for faculty. It was breathtaking -- and has been for the past 20 years. There wasn't any breeze -- amazing since earlier in the day had been extremely windy. The faculty led the procession up the hill to the reception, the students with candles following. Many photos were taken by families. The pageantry of the convocation weekend does not disappoint.

This is the first of the good-byes that occur this weekend. It was the last time the full class of 2018 would be together as a group, since they are divided into morning and afternoon convocation ceremonies tomorrow. Thinking through the many endings and beginnings that occur this weekend -- literally and symbolically -- brought to mind my philosophical approach to teaching. Learning is reciprocal in nature. I learn from every encounter with students. We grow together. Lyrics of one song kept replaying in my head today. It is a lovely melody with meaningful lyrics and is from an award winning musical. The two amazing voices that performed on Broadway sing in the version shared here. Enjoy!

For Good -- Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel (from Wicked)