It's really over.

So a lot has happened in between my previous post and this one. I promise that I'll fill in the gaps soon enough (or whenever my muse permits). However, I figured that I should get the details of Convocation out there before I forget and it becomes another thing on the ever growing to do list.

I can't believe it. It's actually over. I'm actually done done with Schulich. As in unless I go to do my MBA there in a handful of years time I will never have to set foot in that building again. Or rather, I will never have the occasion to set foot in that building again. The moment that I experience at 12:30pm today was one that I had been waiting for since the day I arrived at Schulich. I had started the countdown four years ago and now that has stopped. I'm done.

As I write the word "done" I'm not sure how to feel. I'm a mixture of emotions. I'm elated to have finished a chapter of my life and capped it off with my best academic showing at the post-secondary level thus far. I'm thankful that I got the chance to study with and under accomplished professors who have each taught me valuable lessons. Some times these lessons weren't of the academic nature but regardless of how I view them as professors, they all taught me something about life, about people, about what life and work is like outside of the confines of institutional learning. Most of all, I'm in awe of my fellow classmates who have inspired me, challenged me, and pushed me to be better, to do better.

Four years ago, I was jumping at the chance to start something new. I wanted to leave the "small pond" mentality of high school. The walls seemed suffocating in that last year and I was just going through the motions, aching for the chance to burst out of those doors for the very last time. I was ready to put Dr. Norman Bethune C.I. behind me, as just another stop in my life's journey. The biggest draw to a new school, a school where I would only know two other people, was the fact that I would be forced to meet new people and make new friends.

Ironically, I spent much of my first year as a recluse, kind of off on my own. That's out of character for those of you who know me, as is the emotional breakdown that I had four days into my undergraduate career. That was the first of a handful of times that I wanted to throw in the towel and quit. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't make friends but I didn't embrace the University experience either. I resisted the change. For those of you who had Christine Oliver, I was stuck in the "neutral zone". I didn't even attend frosh week. Schulich holds a buddy dinner to welcome the incoming class prior to frosh week. One of the activities during this dinner is to come up with a cheer for your group (which is, as with most of our initial group projects at Schulich, randomly assigned). For whatever reason, I decided to be attentive and then I saw "it". It'’s pretty infamous around Schulich and is kind of a story for the ages. It might seem like it's a myth but it's true, I (very unfortunately) saw it with my own two eyes. The "it" that I'’m referring to is the act of Will Lumb masturbating on stage. It was then that I decided that I wouldn't spend any more time than absolutely necessary with my peers, at least not until I absolutely had to. In case anyone is wondering, people do not shake Will's hand to this day. After all, we don'’t know where it's been...

When we moved to the new (and still yet to be totally finished) Schulich building my reclusive ways changed. Secluded on the outskirts of campus, the Schulich building housed virtually all of my classes. I left the building to venture to the rest of the York campus, once or at most twice a week. The rest of the time, I spent hanging out in the Marketplace. The design of the building requires that people walk through the Marketplace to get anywhere in the school. As a result, you see everyone there and it's a social hub. We're business students and time is money (oh yeah, and we're generally pretty lazy) so we rarely get off our butts to go to York. We live in the Schulich building so we see each other a lot. Eventually, Schulich wasn't much different from high school - I would walk down the hall to greetings and chatter with acquaintances who quickly became friends.

My decision to go to Schulich above all the other business schools in Canada is one that has not let me down. I wanted to leave the high school "small pond" mentality but going from high school to a close knit and relatively small program of around 300 strong worked out extremely well for me. I know or have come in contact with virtually everyone in the program at some point or other in my 4 years of study and I was able to establish personal relationships with professors. I'm more than just a number.

I'm fortunate to have been in the company of and befriended so many of these tremendous people in the past four years. They have helped to keep me from veering off course. They have inspired me. They have been there with words of encouragement and support at the most opportune of times. And it's in the past 2 months where I haven't had the opportunity to see them on a regular basis and I know that I won't be able to see them as often as I would like from here on out that I have realized how truly special the experience has been. I'm going to miss them, dearly.

Sitting there today surrounded by familiar faces as we carried on snarky conversations during the Convocation ceremony I was reminded once again of what will be missing come September. But I'm not leaving the institutional setting. I will still get that. I'm still a student. I'll make new friends I'm sure but I hope that I'll be able to keep in touch with people who have shared this Schulich experience with me. I'm not going to kid myself though. Keeping in touch is hard. Just ask some of my high school friends. Many have gone missing and my relationships with others have just kind of drifted with neither party making a concerted effort to hang on. I'm hoping that this time things will be different. I know that being a part of each other's network, especially in the business world, is a must. I'm not deluding myself though, it'll be hard and only time will tell.

So a few last thoughts about the actual convocation. First off, when did they ever show us how to hood ourselves?! Thankfully, our 4 years did teach us enough problem solving skills that we were able to figure it out. Secondly, totally didn't understand or hear much/any of Dean Horvath's speech (that accent is really really thick!). Also, I looked ridiculous in grad hat. A big thanks to Dan for helping me put that thing on and for the side chatter during the loooooong ceremony. So I finally found my mom after the ceremony, took some pictures around the York campus and picked my diploma and got it framed. By the time that I made it back to Schulich to grab some things to eat, everything was gone! Man, we're a bunch of rampant and hungry people! And I'm sad that I didn't get pictures with everyone I wanted to get pictures with. *sigh* Oh well, nothing I can do about that now. Guess I'll have to rely on the images engrained in my mind. Oh yeah, I can't forget my excitment over the fact that they pronounced my name correctly!!!! I was so excited that I didn't even remember to listen to see if they mentioned that I graduated with Distinction!

I know that I've quoted it before on this blog but it's so applicable and true that I'm going to do so again.

"Whatever happens, you can handle wins or losses, but the quality of people you're dealing with determines the experience, and I've had a hell of an experience with these guys." -– Mike Krzyzewski

Cheers to the 2006 BBA class at the Schulich School of Business. You guys made it one hell of a ride. Keep in touch! Now let those alumni donation requests trickle into my mail box. The joys of graduation.

Before I sign off I'm going to leave you with a few pictures from today.




Until next time...