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Monday, January 10, 2022

Convocation

Pre-covid-19, convocations in Son#2's university were held in their halls on campus.

But for the past two years, Covid-19 robbed unfortunate graduates and parents off this momentous occasion as only virtual ceremonies were held.

Son#1, too, missed out on this grand chapter of his life. He attended his ceremony, not in a tasseled cap and gown but in pajamas and on his bed. It just felt like a regular zoom session.

Poor kids — all that hard work, blood, sweat and tears!   

Poor parents!  I feel bad for the parents, especially those of foreign students. The letdown must be supersized. I know of a single mom who worked 2 jobs to put her only child through university in the UK. She said the motivation that kept her going was a vision of her attending her son's graduation ceremony.  Every cent she scrimped and saved was put towards that dream. It would have been her very first experience on a plane and her first trip overseas.

This year, however, with restrictions relaxed, the university got creative and instead, hosted their graduation ceremony in an amphitheater in an outdoor theme park!

And yes, we had to wear the entrance ticket wristbands!

The sight of gown-clad graduates and parents in their Sunday best hopping onto awaiting trains to get to the amphitheater was priceless!

I mean, who wears a tight skirt and 4-inch heels in a theme park!


The amphitheater




A proud mommy moment


Interestingly, the masks were designed by New York based Malaysian haute couture designer Zang Toi. 

Kudos to the university for this tremendous effort. A traditional gown-and-cap ceremony is a HUGE deal. Not getting to walk with pride across the stage to the sound of thunderous applause is like not getting closure after years of hard work, a rite of passage if you will.
My Corner of the World

60 comments:

  1. Congratulations!
    Thank you for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/01/an-update-on-dave.html

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  2. Congrulations:) wishing succes abd hapiness...

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  3. The children don't deserve this and I'm really sorry.. I'm so happy for you and your son. You are absolutely right to be proud:)

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  4. Graduation is an exciting time, huge congrats for your son and big dreams for the future!

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  5. Congrats to your son! I am sure you are a very proud Momma.
    Have a great day and a happy new week!

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  6. Congrats to you and your son, Veronica! I am so happy for you both.
    I wish you a great week!

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  7. Congratulations! You must be very proud of him!

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  8. Congrats to both your sons and to you as well. I know a Kindergarten Graduation isn't the same as High School or College, but both my Niece and Nephew missed out on this opportunity which makes me sad as I might not be there when they finally graduate High School.

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  9. Congratulations! Well done. It is always fantastic when young people get a degree.

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  10. Congrats, a wonderful celebration in spite of Covid.

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  11. Fabulous idea, so glad the students and their families could enjoy this ceremony. Congrats to your son! Hugs, Valerie

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  12. Congratulations to your son. Glad that they were able to have a ceremony.

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  13. wow, nice photos and wonderful that they had this ceremony graduation . That mom who worked two jobs ..wow, kudos to her. I don't think i would have been that selfless. congrats to your son! Nice photo of you two.

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  14. That's a different place for a graduation ceremony. Looks like fun.

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  15. What wonderful photos and congrats from me too you must be very proud 👍

    Have a celebrationaltastic week 👍

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  16. Congratulations to your son. It's the education that counts, not the ceremony.

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  17. Dearest Veronica,
    Congratulations for both of your sons for their graduation!
    Too bad, last year was not a ceremony at all.
    Kudos to the University for making it this year into a great event.
    We were not present for the graduation of our foster-daughter Anita in Indonesia. We just wanted her natural parents to enjoy the honor, so we opted for not flying there but instead have her come to the USA for two months to stay with us.
    Glad we did so, her Dad died of lung/brain cancer only 8 years later...
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    PS here if you scroll down you see her at graduation. Being hearing impaired, she had to manage college and university by reading lips. She did, with still one point above average of her class... https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2010/05/anita-anggraeni-our-foster-daughter.html

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  18. Congrats to son#2!!! And belated congrats to son#1! Sorry he couldn't have his "moment in the sun" and get to walk to get his diploma. I love the creativity of where the graduation ceremony was held. It looked like the best of venues in these times to celebrate a momentous occasion!

    betty

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  19. This is wonderful! Congratulations to your son! I know the feeling - my son graduated last May, and thankfully, we were able to have an outdoor ceremony. He's graduating from business school this May, and I'm hoping that the current covid outbreaks will settle down by then and allow him (and us!) to witness this proud moment in person!

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  20. Congrats to your son and his proud mom! All the best for his future.
    Glad that the University found this solution to allow families to attend this important event.
    Wonderful photos.

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  21. Well done the son of yours, nice university honours.

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  22. Congratulations to your son and to you. My graduation from high school and college were both held outside. I guess that is what I expect.

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  23. I'm glad the university found a way to celebrate graduation - as it should be a festive occasion! Congratulations to your son for his accomplishments! Keep smiling :)

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  24. Congratulations - Happy days and that's one for the memory books, seeing the gowns and masks! I'm waiting for my son's graduation in Australia, I do wonder whether I will get there!
    Wren x

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  25. Congratulations!
    Thank you for showing us a little bit about this beautiful day, greetings from a foggy Germany in your exotic, sunny world!
    Kirsi

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  26. Kudos to the school for being so creative with this graduation. Last year's graduates definitely got shorted.

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  27. Hooray for the new graduates, we hope the world treats them right!

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  28. Congratulations to your son and all the other graduates! I'm happy to see an outdoor graduation solution was found to help keep everyone healthy and still have some pageantry and ceremony.

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  29. What a memorable (and safe!) way to celebrate graduation! Congrats to your son!

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  30. Felicitaciones a tu hijo que bella universidad te mando un beso

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  31. Veronica - we did not get to see our youngest "walk" for his graduation in 2020. He says it did not bother him, but I often wonder if he just says that to bury the feelings. Well done to the university to come up with a creative solution. Thanks for sharing with Mosaic Monday!

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  32. Congratulations to you and your son. So many experiences have been missed due to Covid. T am glad the university found a good compromise.

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  33. That is wonderful! Kids of all age from just starting school to those with a PhD have been robbed of what they deserve in the classroom and especially at graduations. So happy the school managed to set up a graduation.

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  34. very nice! have a great day! :)

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  35. ...graduates have been short changed the last couple of years!

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  36. Congratulations! I am so glad they got to have an outdoors graduation! It looks like it was a special time!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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  37. Such beautiful shots and congratulations. It's sad that the last couple of years have been so difficult on graduates. It's a huge milestone in their lives and graduation is a rite of passage.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ♥

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  38. Veronica, What a great idea to hold it outdoors! Thanks for sharing. Sylvia D.

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  39. Congratulations to our son and to you! These kind of moments are so intense and beautiful. I hope that these generations will change the world in a better way, even the reality is so sad.
    Thank you Veronica for sharing these moments with us.
    Happy WW and always!

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  40. What a smart way to do it -- adapting to changes instead of giving up.

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  41. Oh WoW - Fantastic Post Today - Thank You For Sharing These

    Cheers

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  42. I'm thankful for everyone that's missed out parts of their life due to Covid, it certainly has been something to reckon with.

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  43. Parabéns para seu filho, que Deus continue abençoando sempre, linda festa, bjs.

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  44. Congratulations to your son for a great achievement.

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  45. This is wonderful. I'm so glad you got to celebrate a "real" commencement ceremony. It looks like a terrific venue, as well and I know it meant so very much to the students.

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  46. Congratulations and much success in all future endeavors! #trafficjamparty

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  47. excellent achievement....
    congratulation to your son....

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  48. So many graduates and their families have been deprived of sharing in such a special celebration. It's good that this event was re-scheduled to a different location that allowed it to go on. Congrats to your son and to his very happy and proud mother and to all the other graduates and their families as well.

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  49. An ingenious idea for the graduation!

    Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!

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  50. Congratulations! All the best to your son in all that lie ahead. God bless.

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  51. Thank you so much for sharing piece of atmosphere from convocation. It is interesting to see hoe it look like now in post covid time when everyone wear mask.

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  52. The surroundings are actually beautiful for such a proud moment.

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  53. Congratulations to your son! I wish him much success in the future. Loved seeing the photo of you with him. The university did well to come up with a solution that provided some pomp and pageantry to mark this grand occasion.

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  54. What a proud moment, dear Vero. Hearty Congratulations and many, many Celebrations.

    So glad you all enjoyed an offline ceremony. This is indeed precious in the current times.
    God bless, God speed and pssssst! You look stunning adorable Mommy.

    Wonder if you got my New Year, X'mas email.

    Big hugs and big love for a blessed 2022.

    I wrote something after eons:

    https://natashamusing.com/2022/01/balanced-flow-wordoftheyear-woty2022/

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  55. Congrats to you son! You should be very proud. Thanks for sharing your post, wonderful photos. Take care, enjoy your day and happy new week!

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  56. Yes, congratulations to your son from all of us! Hey, I enjoyed all of the photos, the braised pork looks great, the chair lift not so much!

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  57. Congratulations to your son. Thanks for sharing the event with us. What a creative way to celebrate the occasion and enable them to wear their caps and gowns. Loved the pictures of them riding the trains to the amphitheater. And that's a precious proud mommy photo of the two of you.

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