Peter's College Graduation

The night before graduation we went to a party at the arts center on campus.  It was lively and fun and we enjoyed spending the evening with Peter's housemate Brian and his parents.  This is the three of us at this event.  Afterwards, we headed to the train station to pick up Mary, who took the train down from New Haven after her last AP exam of the week on Friday afternoon.  Her train was late and we didn't get to bed until at least 1:30.  Our wake-up call was at 6:30 that morning . . . . .

This picture was taken in the parking lot before heading over to graduation on Saturday morning.  We brought "John on a stick" with us (the real John was at Tufts taking final exams), so here are Mary and Brad hamming it up with him.

Inside the Bender Arena, this is how graduation looked to us.  AU has five separate ceremonies for each of its five schools, combining undergraduates and graduates in ceremonies which are either on Saturday or Sunday.  Peter's ceremony was the first of the weekend, at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.  He graduated in the School of Public Affairs.  The ceremony lasted two hours and Senator Richard Lugar was the graduation speaker.  Here is a link to a quick video showing Peter getting his diploma.

Thanks to the Jumbotron I was able to get a picture of Peter shaking the hand of the Dean while getting his diploma.

This picture was taken outside the School of Public Affairs building after the ceremony.  As you can see, the weather was perfect.

It's hard to tell who is happier for Peter - his sister or his brother.  John on a stick was a fun guy to have around - not unlike the real John.

Our happy graduate.

In the afternoon we went to Peter's house and enjoyed an afternoon celebration with his four housemates and their families.  Peter was the only one of the five to graduate in the morning; the rest of the boys graduated either late Saturday afternoon or on Sunday.  That's John pointing at Peter and Brian holding a piece of cake.

In the evening (and after the four of took afternoon naps) we went out to dinner at one of Peter's favorite Thai restaurants and afterwards took a walk around DuPont Circle.  It was the perfect way to end a perfect day.