On Saturday, Tony and I attended our first Saint Louis University graduation. Mainly because I wanted to see Greg Mortenson speak. He is the author of one of my all-time favorite books - Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace. Three Cups of Tea is without a doubt the most inspirational book that I've ever read. If you can read it without crying at least once, you deserve a medal. Anyway, he was this year's commencement speaker and he definitely did not disappoint! He is not a natural public speaker and even after all these years of doing it, you can still tell. With that being said, his story is so special that his nervousness just makes it all that more endearing. With a little bit of money and a whole lot of determination, Mortenson can truly say that he has changed the world for the better. Because of him, 28,000 students (18,000 of those girls) have been educated in some of the poorest regions of the world. What a legacy...
The rest of graduation was great as well. There were a few cute and touching moments. When Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, and Technology was asked to stand to have their degrees conferred on them, they all threw paper airplanes. After Father Biondi (the President) conferred the medical degrees on the new doctors, those receiving nursing degrees all stood and applauded the doctors. When it was the nurses turn, the doctors reciprocated. When the College of Philosophy and Letters was asked to stand..... two lone male students stood! They got a very rousing round of applause and laughter from the full Chaifetz Arena! Father also amended his normal "Sons and Daughters of Saint Louis University" to just "Sons of Saint Louis University!"
Graduation did more than just entertain me though. It reminded me that I want to go back to school. And that it's time for me to do so. Good thing that I set up a meeting with an advisor from the business graduate school for this week!
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