Stonehill Cape Week and Commencement 2010

I'm a Stonehill alum! Yayyy! Can you believe it?! It is still impossible for me to fathom that I am no longer a college student, but now an adult embarking on my life as a professional in the work force. The past two weeks have been busy, exciting, and fun, and have marked a momentous change in my life.

Two Thursdays ago I submitted my final two papers and thus completed my finals for the semester as well as my last assignments ever at Stonehill. Without much of a break, I started packing up the things in my dorm room. The next day, my dad and my sister came to pick up and bring home many of the things from my room, and then I left with my suite-mates to go to the Cape for one of Stonehill's many traditions, Cape Week. For Cape Week, the week between finals and commencement, members of the graduating class rent houses on the Cape, usually around Dennis (we stayed in Dennisport). During the week, the College hosts the Senior Formal. In addition to attending the formal, my friends and I spent the week on the beach, going out for ice cream (I got ice cream three times!), shopping in Chatham and Mashpee, and attending some of the Stonehill nights at local bars hosted by Stonehill students. I had a great time enjoying life as a college student with my friends for one last week. Here's a re-cap of the week in pictures:

Before the Senior Formal in Hyannis, a bunch of my friends gathered for pictures on the beach in Dennisport.

My boyfriend, Brandon, even came down to visit to attend the formal with me.

Here I am with Kathleen, Katrina, and Kait.

And of course a roommate picture of me and Carrie!

Melissa and I on the beach in Dennisport.

The girls at Tommy Doyle's in Hyannis.

In Chatham, by the lighthouse, with Kari-Ann and Carrie.

While getting ice cream at Sundae School, we noticed that Stonehill was represented, and of course we needed to take a picture!

Stonehill's Class of 2010 all came back to campus Friday for Commencement Weekend. On Friday afternoon, I attended the Legacy Campaign champagne toast (complete with some of my favorite Sodexho appetizers) to thank those who donated to the Class of 2010 class gift. Following the toast was the barbecue hosted by the Alumni Office. At the barbecue, we also got to watch a video of pictures submitted by seniors and we received our Kiss a Senior Goodbye goody bags, which are full of candy and notes sent to us from family and friends.

On Saturday, we had our graduation rehearsal and the President's Address, and then Baccalaureate in the Sports Complex followed by the Senior/Parent Dinner Dance in Boston. At the end of the Baccalaureate mass, I received my honors medallion for completing the requirements of the Honors Program and graduating with honors. The Senior/Parent Commencement Eve Dinner Dance was then a way to celebrate my graduation not just with my Stonehill friends, but with my family as well. My parents got to meet my friends' parents, who they have not met before, and some Stonehill staff as well. Here are some pictures of Baccalaureate and the Dinner Dance:

Congratulating the recipients of the Honors medallion at the close of the Baccalaureate mass.

With my parents after Baccalaureate.

Most of the graduating seniors who have also been Peer Mentors during our time at Stonehill with our boss, Jim Hermelbracht, the Director of Student Activities.

Finally, after an exhausting week of finals and a week on the Cape, Commencement Day was here! After putting on my cap and gown, the graduates all met behind Donahue Hall to line up before the traditional procession down the steps of Donahue hill. The commencement ceremony was lovely. The major themes that we heard from our commencement speaker Jack Connors, who is the President of the major Boston advertising firm HillHoliday, our student speaker John Hanawalt, and President Cregan were friendship, communication, family, faith, and that we can make a difference when we use our "many minds" and passions to work together to solve the problems our world faces. I enjoyed the ceremony, and it seemed to go by just too quickly! But I do have some great photos from during commencement and after with family and friends!

With Katrina, Kathleen, and Emma behind Donahue before Commencement.

Now with Kait and Sarah.

With my parents and my sister Lindsay after Commencement.

My grandmothers also attended Commencement and really enjoyed the day!

I also got to see some friends after the ceremony. Here I am with Alexia, Melissa, Alex, and Carrie - four of my suite-mates.

Now that I have moved back home, I have already begun work substituting in my hometown, Northbridge, MA, and in the town that my parents are from, Grafton, MA. Also, I will be working this summer as a teacher for the summer school program in Grafton. I am still in the job search process for teaching positions for next year. I am quickly learning that this process will test my patience and my nerves, but I am also so anxious and excited to find a position and get my classroom set up and begun! It is a nerve-wracking time in my life, but it is also a very exciting and thrilling time. There are many changes that will be coming in the next few years, I am sure, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me! I will miss Stonehill immensely, but I will always have the best memories of my college years, and Stonehill has prepared me well to take on the next phase in my life, wherever it may lead me.

5 Finals Away from a Bachelor's Degree!

All day yesterday I was in disbelief that it was my last day of classes that I will ever take at Stonehill. It was an exciting moment, but also unbelievable and bittersweet! Yet, it was not just yesterday, but all week that had me thinking about some of my "lasts" at Stonehill. I ate at the Hill for the last time (because they are starting remodeling today! So sad I am going to miss out on the new space!), I had Pastabilities (probably my favorite meal in the Dining Commons) for the last time, and I went to my last Brother Mike's bar night. I almost didn't go to Brother Mike's last night because I was gone all afternoon and have so much work to do for finals. But it was my last chance to go, all my friends were there, and I want to remember to enjoy the last few days in addition to getting my finals completed!

Yesterday was a busy day, not just because it has been my busiest day of classes this semester, but because for my last class, which was my senior Capstone Seminar for my English major, my class met my Professor at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and then went over my Professor's house for dinner - homemade salad and chocolate cake along with pizza. It was very generous and kind of our Professor to open her home to us. I felt I got very close with my seminar class this semester, and so our final class was an apt conclusion to our work together. It was also fun meeting her 2 and a half year old son! While we ate, we also discussed our final paper topics. But not only did my Professor want to hear from us about our final papers, she was also interested in hearing from the 11 of us about our plans for next year. As I sat in Professor Gracombe's Brookline living room listening to my classmates share their future plans, I had a strange sense that I was no longer an undergraduate. At that moment, at the end of my last day of classes, I truly felt the transition I will be making this summer from student to teacher. It was a satisfying moment and a lovely way to spend my last Stonehill class.

Here is a picture of my seminar class with Professor Gracombe:

This whole week of lasts was preceded by a first. The week began Saturday night with a Class of 2010 boat cruise on the Boston harbor on the Spirit of Boston. The event marked our "25 Days" to graduation. It was beautiful weather, and we all had a great time celebrating our next step closer to graduation. Here are a couple pictures from 25 Days:

Carrie and I before our trip to the city!

The beautiful Boston skyline, unfortunately it's a little blurry, but this was the best I could do from a moving boat!.

Kait and I on the Spirit of Boston!

Over the course of the next week, I have 3 final papers and 2 final exams, plus an interview in my hometown for a first grade teaching position. It will be a busy week, but once the week is over, I will be spending the next week on the Cape with the Class of 2010 complete with a Senior Formal, beach, and bar nights, before we come back to campus for Baccalaureate, the Senior/Parent Dinner Dance, and commencement! I am looking forward to enjoying my last week as a Stonehill student. I'll be sure to update one more time after commencement to share the highlights of our senior week!