My Brother’s College Graduation

It is on graduation day your realize how fast four years can go by. This past weekend my big brother graduated from college. I remember the day we dropped him off at his dorm at the beginning of his freshman year, now he had graduated and on the job hunt. They grow up so fast!

I was even more personally invested in the last two years of my brother’s undergraduate college experience since I had finally joined him on campus as a student at the University of Illinois. So, to sit on the sidelines and watch my brother Jacob graduate really puts a lot into perspective.

There were two different graduations for students the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. The first ceremony to attend is the university wide one where all of the college get together to celebrate. After that each individual college has a private ceremony in a more intimate and college specific setting.

It was so inspiring to look out at the sea of blue cap and gowns! Knowing that I am only two years away from taking my place on the massive field of graduates. It was also super cool to see each college represented in the entire university.

I also made the Jumbotron at the stadium! The #illinois2019 hashtag was used on social media platforms to celebrate different grads and I tweeted about my awesome brother. It was so cool to see it pop up on the screen, and such an honor to celebrate my brother’s accomplishments in that way!

Before we knew it the confetti be gan to fly! The students had officially graduated! The rest of the family and I were very thankful, however, because the day was rather cold and windy. It certainly didn’t help that the sky was overcast.

Nonetheless, we all rushed out to go greet my brother and get some pictures. There were a ton of people everywhere we looked, but we somehow found one another.

After the university wide ceremony we all hopped into our cars and got some food. The individual college graduation for my brother would not be until the next day. Since you are reading this post and living through the weekend, you get the benefit of speeding up to the next graduation ceremony!

The next day…

Since my brother, Jacob, majored in advertising he graduated from the College of Media. This was a much smaller and more intimate venue/ceremony. I loved hearing all of the names of each graduating individual, especially when my brother’s name was called!

It was so crazy to see my big brother process in during the official ceremony! Seeing him in action made the whole event so much more real! His four years just seemed to fly by!

We were very lucky to have seats in just the right spot! We didn’t even know my brother would be waking directly in front of us because there were a couple of different directions the line went, but it worked out great for us to get photos of him.

I was also lucky to see one of my favorite former professors earn her Doctorate degree!!! Every week I looked forward to attending her class and learning something new. She did an amazing job, and now I am very lucky to consider her a dear friend!

After the College of Media Commencement Ceremony we all piled into the car to get some well earned food. It also happened to be Mother’s Day on this Sunday so it was extra special for out Mom!

I have been so lucky to have my big brother attending the same university as me for the first two years! We are all so proud of him and everything that he has accomplished so far! There is no telling what lies ahead in the future for him, but we all know that it is a very bright future with endless opportunities.

Much Love,

Sarah