Odd question but quite important when it comes to one’s graduation. I overheard it as an usher directed a student to her seat. “Do you know your surname?” She asked then, realising what she’d said, asked for the student’s seat number.
We were at the Assembly Rooms for Mirinda’s DBA graduation. How apt to be receiving her doctorate in a room which, no doubt, Jane once frequented.
Mirinda’s ceremony was one of eight over two days. It was also the first one and started at 8:30am with registration then gown collection and Mirinda’s was a colourful reflection of her personality as well as academic achievement.
There was a fair bit of queuing for the guests before we were allowed to file in and claim a seat. Bob and I proved that starting early is a bonus because, being at the head of the queue, we managed to bag two seats in the first row of guests. Okay this was the second actual row because we were sat behind the PhD graduands but even so, our view was excellent.
The view was also interesting given the mayor was sat directly opposite. His chains of office must have proven weighty indeed given his eyes struggled to remain open throughout the hour he was sat there.
What he missed was a number of glorious moments. To be fair, he’s probably attended far too many of these official functions that really have nothing to do with him.
Obviously the most glorious moment of all was Mirinda walking up to receive her doctorate in a strange traditional nonsense whereby the Vice-Chancellor tapped her on the head with a mortar board then another chap draped her coloured collar around her shoulders.
It was all very mysterious and baffling but, eventually, she was made a Doctor and that, after all, was the end of a very long journey that started back in 2010.
Professor Veronica Hope-Hailey read out the names of all the graduands and, I have to say she deserves some sort of major recognition for the feat. There were some remarkable names (Pipobsukavadee, Almutawaa, Phuttichaiwarangkul, Wachiruksasawakul and Johnson to name but a few) and her pronunciation appeared to be perfect.
Possibly the funniest moment came from an unexpected quarter. I was chatting to the first graduand who went up. She was supposed to be the second one but the first one hadn’t turned up. Her name was Quynh Anh Do. She told me, in strictest confidence, that when she shook hands with the Pro-Chancellor, he said “Congratulations. Now get off.” Which, I’m sure, was a little more abrupt than he intended.
Chris Anderson, receiving an honorary doctorate, gave an inspirational speech. His name may not be instantly recognisable but his work definitely is. He created and continues to work on TED talks.
His speech centred around the effect of giving stuff away and how, unexpectedly you can get stuff back. I found it very inspiration. Plus he seems like a very nice person.
Soon enough, it was all over and with a great degree of pomp and circumstance, everyone filed out of the room and into the world outside.
We could only get two guest passes but that didn’t stop Sophie turning up to watch Mirinda emerge from the Assembly Rooms in all her glory. Actually, the rain even almost stopped for the great moment.
We then had a short yet very crowded stroll down to the Pump Room. As well as her doctorate, Mirinda also won the Richard and Shirley Mawditt Prize for most outstanding (as opposed to longest serving) student. Richard and Shirley regularly give this award. In fact, Richard set up The International Centre of Higher Education Management (ICHEM), the school in which Mirinda studied.
Mirinda gave a rousing and often humorous acceptance speech to the delight of everyone.
It was then time for Sophie to head back to release her car from the meter to which it was attached. Also, Tom had his maths exam today so she had to head home to console him.
After a few drinks and nibbles and general chat where I discovered that the admin staff thought that I was ‘cute’, we headed out to the Pump Room dining room for a lunch of unintentional epic proportions.
There was a slight hiccough when I insisted that I wanted an IPA and not a lager. The waitress was under the impression that all beer is created equally and is lager. It was all smoothed over, however, when she realised that I was right.
Then, finally, we headed back to the Queensberry Hotel to pick up Max then drive the long, wet, arduous roads home.
A splendid day for a splendid achievement. I am very, very proud of my Doctor Wife.
I almost forgot to mention the fact that I made Sophie squeal. In all the years of our acquaintance she has never seen me dressed up. The effect of seeing me in my new three piece tweed suit was just too much for her. In fact, she thought she’d be okay in jeans because “Gary will be in jeans.“
