I received my Mother's Day gift on Saturday when Matty graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. He also graduated with honors.
The main ceremony began on Saturday morning at 10:00 in the Breeden Fieldhouse. This is one of the best pictures I was able to get since we were sitting way up in the stands. At least we were able to make out the stage and listen to the speakers. The invocation was given by Henrietta Mann who spoke a prayer in Cheyenne as well as in English which was interesting. There was a speech by Brian Schweitzer, governor of Montana. The speech was amusing and a little sad as well. One part made me sniffle a little. He remarked that the majority of graduates would have to leave Montana in order to have jobs. He told them to be good ambassadors for the state of Montana, show others how real Montanans are supposed to act, learn a great deal and then come back home. It makes me teary because that is so true. Montana is far more than just a state to reside it. It is our home.
After the main ceremony, we made our way over to Shroyer Gym where the engineering majors received their degrees. 
As you can tell by the picture on the right, the gym was packed to the rafters. We thought we were sitting in a prime spot on the left hand side because the graduates would be facing us as they walked from left to right across the stage. But the announcement was made that they would be doing it differently this time and the graduates would be walking the other way. So I got some good shots of the back of Matt's head as he walked across! After the speaker (Joel T. Long, founder of JTL Group in Billings) was finished, I thought about going down to the floor to take pictures but Matty was the FIRST one across so I had no time to make it down to the floor.
Here Matt is the first one in the second row.
On the right is Matt starting to go across the stage. Since he was first, he had no idea what to do so he shook hands with Heidi Sherick who handed him his diploma.
On the left is Matt shaking hands as he proceeds across the stage. Right behind him is one of his good friends, Jeremy, who also graduated with honors.
As you can see from the picture on the right, Matt completed his walk and is now puzzled as to how to get back to his seat. Because there were only about 10 Chemical Engineers who showed up to receive diplomas, they didn't fill up a whole row. Other graduates filled the remaining seats in the row. Which solution should he choose? Try to get through the row filled with people or walk in front of the people who were trying to take pictures? Eventually there was a bottleneck of graduates coming off the stage because no one knew what to do. So Matt and Jeremy made a run for it in front of the people taking pictures and the rest of the chemical engineers followed. Way to go Matt, for being decisive and for being a leader! :-)
Matt and Jeremy finally make it back to their seats. Matt's thoughts as he checks out his diploma: "What the heck? This diploma is empty!"
If you notice in the picture on the right, Matt has something in his hands. It's a can of silly string. Those crazy chemical engineers are up to no good!
Pandemonium breaks loose as the ceremony winds down. Horns blare and silly string flies everywhere.
Finally I was able to capture a close up of Matty after the ceremony was over. By the way, Matt almost missed his graduation as a result of being out until 3:30 that morning. He learned that you cannot hit the snooze for the alarm on your cell phone more than 10 times in a row. He was supposed to show up for graduation at 9:00 am and he woke up at 8:35 am. College prepared you to work under pressure. Good job!
Matt's cousin, Annie, also graduated on Saturday. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Languages and Literature and also graduated with honors. The medal around her neck means that she graduated in the honors program. Here she is posing with her bling.
Annie had a very interesting job this spring working in Helena during the state legislature.
The three amigos! Annie, Jough, and Matty.
I will leave everyone with this final image which sums it all up. Here is Matt posing on the front lawn of the Brenden Fieldhouse. The tall buildings in the background are some of the dorms of MSU. The buildings on the right are North and South Hedges. Five short years ago when we brought Matt up to Bozeman as a Freshman he lived in North Hedges with his life long friend Tim. I remember feeling so sad because I wouldn't be able to protect him anymore and I prayed that he would be able to make it on his own and make the right choices. So this picture represents the beginning and the end. How Matt started as a freshman living in North Hedges and by keeping his eye on the prize, with hard work and determination, he was able to complete school and graduate with honors. Yes, this was truly the best Mother's Day gift anyone could ever receive. Thank you, Matt.
Whooo-hooo! Congrats! :D
Posted by: Kim | May 09, 2005 at 01:13 PM
Tell Matt Congrats. Was Joe wearing eye shadow????
Posted by: Judy | May 10, 2005 at 02:19 PM
Judy ~ No, Jough was not wearing eye shadow even though that sounds like something he would do! I tried to erase the red eye in the picture but I think I used a little too much and it looks like he has black eyes!
Please forgive me Jough! I'm sorry! :-)
Posted by: Pandora | May 10, 2005 at 09:01 PM
Congratulations Matt & Mom!
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