Graduation Photos (finally!)

It's been almost two weeks since my MBA graduation and I still don't quite know what to do with myself at times. It is pretty nice to be free to do whatever I want once I get home from work in the evenings. :) Three years of grad school and I'm done with school. Done, done. As in I don't really need to ever go back if I don't want to. It is still surreal to me that I technically NEVER have to go back to school unless a midlife crisis or other unforeseen circumstance warrants a complete career change. I do plan on doing several certifications for my job (AIAF, ARe, and maybe someday getting my CMA), but it is optional and would just be studying for exams using study guides.

Here are some photos from the big day!

Our speaker was former President of Lego, Peter Eio

A sea of graduates at the main ceremony.

Me (3rd row back on right) with my fellow MBA classmates at the Barney School of Business Ceremony:

My older brother, me, and my Grammie

A.R. & I
Rocking my "hawt" hood!

My friend & I

My friend & I after the ceremony
We are smokin' in these hoods

Here it is...the piece of paper I worked so hard for!

Party like it's hawt!

On Saturday (May 16th), A.R. threw me a party to celebrate my graduation and it was a beautiful day outside. The person who traveled the farthest to attend was my brother, P.T., from St. Petersburg, Florida. He had quite a time getting here, too. His connecting flight from Newark into Hartford was cancelled and he ended up having to fly into Providence to get here while his luggage conveniently traveled to Hartford. WTF? Thanks for coming big brudder and I can't wait to see you again soon!

I also hosted my grandmother as a guest in our home for the first time. I was a bundle of nerves as she is quite old fashioned and on top of all the proper etiquette you should display. I hope I didn't offend her too badly, but I think she had a blast...she cried when she saw our house, she was so proud.

We kicked off the party by pigging out and watching the Preakness on TV. Go Baby Go! The favorite, a filly, won. A.R. burnt no less then a half of dozen hotdogs into oblivion while trying to figure out our new grill and quickly turned the cooking over to his older brother, M.R. Don't worry Babe, you'll figure it out sooner or later (hopefully sooner, than later!). Muah! I didn't drink too much because I was exhausted already and we had to get up early for the ceremony on Sunday.

My cake...red velvet with cream cheese frosting to match school colors (red & white):

My friend (& fellow graduate) and I acting silly:

My brother & I acting silly:

Some of my guests:

Some guests earlier in the party:Y, me, and P celebrating:
A.R. & I celebrating he is next up in 2011 with his MS in Computer Science:

Graduation Festivities Begin!

I can't believe how fast the last three years flew by. It seems like just yesterday I was applying to graduate school and touring campuses to see which one would be the best fit for me. Now, it is all over...tomorrow morning I'll walk across that stage and get my diploma. Holy cow! I will have a Master's degree. Little. Old. Me. I have to admit that getting my MBA was a lot harder for me then studying for my Bachelor's in Accounting. The classes were MUCH more intense and took a lot more of my time outside of the already full-time work schedule I have. Of course it probably didn't help that while I was enrolled in grad school last year I also planned a wedding (my own) and built a house along with my full-time job as an accountant in Reinsurance. Yup, it was enough to drive me just a teensy bit insane. Luckily, my groom still married me! :)

I'm proud to graduate as a member of Sigma Alpha Pi the National Honor Society of Leadership and Success and with a GPA of 3.83 (darned "B" in Economics = killing me!). Yes, I am a geek. A number crunching, reconciliation loving, checkbook balancing geek. My favorite class as a Master's Student was the International Marketing course I took to Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore for 12 days in the summer of 2007. I will never forget that experience and can't wait for the class reunion we organized for the end of May. My least favorite class was probably the Macro Economics course I took on Saturday mornings for 7 weeks. What was I thinking subjecting myself to such torture on a Saturday?! Economics + Heather = NOT fun. I have to admit I'll miss the excited butterfly like feeling in the pit of my stomach I get at the start of every semester, the intensity of trying to finish up that term paper and give the class presentation on time, and the sense of extreme accomplishment that follows the end of every semester. I won't miss having to spend my evenings studying or doing homework or having to pass on a Happy Hour, movie, or family gathering because I have to study.

On Thursday I attended a Graduation Reception for Graduate students at school. Here is a picture of my friend Jani and I there:

I also picked up my cap, gown, and hood as well. I have to say that the hood is pretty freakin' ugly. It's brown (they even call the color "drab"!!) for the school of business and the red and white on the inside are our school colors. Even though it's ugly, I might still keep it. I'll have to pay for it if I do, but it is kind of cool I get to be the one wearing a hood at graduation now and I can see myself trying it on for size at home and being all nostalgic. LOL, yes I'm lame. Here she is in all her glory waiting for some ironing:

Ok, I have to close for now but I'll post some pictures of the party and ceremony next week. Yesterday, we (Alexi, my brother Pete, and I) went to NYC to tour the Natural History Museum so I'll post some pictures from our adventures there as well.

H