"The Eyes of Texas are Upon You...."

That was sung, in UT tradition, at my graduation Friday night.

Here is a nice message my Mom wrote on our (private) family blog:

"Almost as soon as she got off the plane from Hawaii, Alli graduated last night from UTMB Galveston. She was awarded two honor's society awards and an award for best power point presentation for final research project. The commencement speaker, from Chicago, mentioned that this class was the most diverse, ethnically, of any she had seen, and that the "persona" of this class was just a huge HEART! They were encouraged to remember, first: social justice, and second: those who could- please! go into teaching, since they are expecting a huge shortage in this profession... Hopefully, she will post the pic of herself at the microphone from the banquet the night before. When I first saw it, I thought she had been invited to sing. ("and now a short song by our very own Alli....") Alli said that would not be likely. Happy/sad times as the class realized after all the hard times they went through together, most will never see each other again as they spread out around the country. Then we were off to the Hotel Galvez for dinner. ummmmmm good. [Hubby] is glad to have his wife back. (of course the next three weeks will be hard core studying for her boards.) Then a month or so waiting for certification, which means the job might not start until early March, she was told."

Thanks for the nice post, Mom!

It has been a busy week and half: graduation trip to Maui (read about it here), breakfast with the faculty Thursday morning (this is where I was awarded with best master's research platform & inducted into the Alpha Eta Honor Society and the Pi Alpha Honor Society), then our graduation banquet Thursday night at the Downtown Club in Houston, and finally graduation Friday late afternoon finished with that delicious dinner with Hubby, Mom, & Dad at the historic Hotel Galvez in Galveston.

It's been a busy 2.5 years with a lot of hard work, a lot of stress, and also a lot of great times and great memories. I have a learned a great deal, and yet this is just the beginning of my education as a physician assistant. I have a lifetime of learning ahead of me & I am excited about it. Also, as Mom said, the next few weeks will be full of crazy studying for my board exam and hopefully will be working by February or March at UTMDACC. So, I can't exhale just yet.

It's been a blast & I am greatly looking forward to what my future as a PA holds for me....

More graduation pics here.
Banquet pics here.