Graduation - May 6, 2012

Here are some pictures of my graduation ceremony on May 6. 

My parents flew out and spent the week with us. 

In February Mike Horning and I defended our dissertations one day apart. I obviously defended  first, so that means I got my Ph.D. before him. :) It was great to share graduation with Mike and his family. I am so blessed to have made such great friends in the program. We have loved getting to know the Hornings and their extended family throughout the years. It's only fitting we started and ended the program together.

The Paterno statue is no longer standing at the north end of Beaver Stadium. It was taken down this summer.

The Next Adventure

On Monday I get to start my next adventure--learning the violin. I am so excited to take lessons. I love the violin! As an adult, I have always wanted to learn. The last five years I have always said I am going to learn the violin once I complete my doctorate. Now, it's about to happen. For graduation my parents bought me a violin. We picked it up in Utah before my brother Richard's wedding and then brought it back to Pennsylvania. It's a beautiful instrument.

In July I responded to an advertisement on Craigslist from an instructor who was looking to teach piano and violin lessons. The woman said she was moving to my area in August. Well, I met her on Sunday. She is a member of my church. I talked with her right before Relief Society started, then I taught the lesson, and then I talked with her after church, all without knowing she was my instructor. She went home from church and realized the two of us had been corresponding about lessons. What a tender mercy!!!! I can't wait for lessons to begin!