graduation reflections.

It's official - I'm a graduate from the University of Melbourne!

Master of Journalism. woo!

Getting to this point took a lot of hard work and was very overwhelming at times. But it was all totally worth it.

obligatory regalia selfie.

The graduation ceremony itself was probably the most organised event I've witnessed at this university. It took place at the Royal Exhibition Building, a beautiful location near the edge of Melbourne's CBD. And even though the wind was out of control (typical Melbourne!), the weather was sunny and made for some lovely photos.

the Royal Exhibition Hall

Graduation coincided with my mom's third visit to Melbourne, and it was so meaningful to have her there for the event. Our friends Ronelle and Gareth were able to watch Arden, which was a huge blessing and relief.

During the ceremony, I reflected on a few things during my grad school journey.

I thought about how intimidating it felt to even apply to the program, and how emotional I was when I received the e-mail of acceptance (on the drive back from Portland - very timely!).

I thought about the other students I had met through classes, or the program, or as friends of friends. The journalism program attracts people from many walks of life, and it was lovely to have conversations with such diverse and fascinating personalities. I'm honoured to even know many of my classmates, who no doubt will go on to do amazing things, journalistic and beyond. And so many of them had been friendly and incredibly helpful, especially when I was pregnant with Arden.

Cards Against Humanity nights. Typical.

I thought about how daunting everything felt at the beginning of each semester, especially as the challenges piled up (semester 1: don't fail. semester 2: don't vomit in class. semester 3: don't give birth in class. semester 4: don't fail, and don't let the baby vomit in class). And the huge effort it took to complete my final semester (like the time we flew my sister-in-law and nephew to Melbourne to watch Arden while I took an intensive class..!).

Arden was with me for 3/4 of my program! Two semesters in mooncake-form, one semester in baby-form.

I do have a few reservations about higher education, but I won't get into that. Instead, I will say that I found my time in both undergraduate and graduate school to be extremely valuable - not necessarily for the purpose of classroom-based education or getting a job, but for the experiences. For the people I met, the diverse ideas and thoughts I was exposed to, for the feeling of purpose and a substantial goal to work towards.

A huge thank-you to my family for the support (financial and emotional); to my classmates and professors for the encouragement, advice and friendship; to my friends in the States for cheering me on; to Ben for supporting me through the hardest of the hard moments; and of course to Arden, who was always very well-behaved - and cute - when I occasionally brought her to class with me.

CK
(Master of Journalism!)

p.s.
If you're curious, here are some previous blog entries about my graduate school experience:

-pre-course excitement and thoughts
-my first week ("disorientation week" as I called it!)
-my first semester
-my last semester