I am sittng in my office this morning, about an hour before we robe to march in the commencement procession. It is always a moving experience, even during rain, snow and other bleak weather. However, today we have bright cool sunshine - a magnificent Vermont spring morning. The rain is not due to arrive until late afternoon. The graduates, faculty and board of trustees line up on campus and then process (led by bagpipes) one block up the street to the town green. A huge tent that seats 1,000 guests is set up on the green and most of the guests and town residents line the sidewalk, cheering and waving.
After the ceremonies, we all hug and greet families of our new grads and sample the great Vermont cuisine set up throughout the campus for the post-event receptions. We are so proud of our grads, excited to see them move onward, yet will miss them on campus - until the new class enrolls this fall!
As the Admissions Dean, my first thoughts are always on the entering class. I need the grads to move on so that there is room for “my” class to arrive - we need classrooms, parking, housing, etc. It’s all the cycle of time.
Congratulations to all the grads - you have done well at VLS. Now you are ready to go back into the work and do good.
