GRAD-U-A-TION!!

It was such a neat experience for me to have the opportunity to participate in commencement and convocation as part of the graduation ceremonies for UVU on Friday. During commencement, President Holland shared with us that the night before he had asked his family at dinner what he should say to the graduates the next day. His 7 year old daughter spoke up without missing a beat, "Dad, just tell them, 'Congrats! Badda-bing, badda-bip, have a great summer!'" What a cleaver little girl! It really stuck with me, and it's probably the most memorable thing that was said :)

What was even more special for me was having my amazing husband and family come to support me. This really has been an unforgettable journey and I am so glad they were there to share the finale with me. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the last 4 years working towards my baccalaureate degree and that, in turn, has blessed my life immensely! I have had the opportunity to meet and work with incredible people and professors, and I have learned so much about myself and what I can set forth and accomplish. Thanks to everyone who has been there to offer encouragement and support through this whole process, being my cheerleaders on the sidelines. This degree would have been much harder to achieve without all of your love and support.

The person I have to thank the most, of course, is my amazing husband, Darwin. I honestly can't say enough good about him!! It's hard to know if I would have even gone to college if it weren't for him. Dar is the one who helped me go through the application process, helped me get registered for my classes, buy my books, and show me where my classes would be so I wouldn't feel like a silly, lost, high school student during my first few semesters. He has been my #1 cheerleader and support. He has been the one to encourage me to try my best, and has always been the first to tell me how proud he is of me. He worked so hard to provide for our little family so I wouldn't have to work which allowed me to be able to focus completely on my school work and get good grades. You truly are amazing!! So, thank you, Darwin for helping me become a better person, for loving me, and having faith in me that I could do this. I couldn't have done it without you!!

Janice, Me, Courtney

Janice & I were the only ones in the entire school with white stoles. We earned them from the NCFR (National Counsel on Family Relations) through our volunteer service and high GPAs. Yay for us, Janice!!

Me & my most amazing #1 fan!

My proud parents :)

My fam that came to support me.
My in-laws came too, but they had already left by the time we got out and had a chance to take pictures.

-Thank you all for coming! Love you all!-After the graduation ceremonies we had a combined graduation party for Darwin and me. He'll be done with his masters degree in August. One more semester to go! I'm so proud of you, babe!

Here are some of our honors and recognitions that we displayed.

My beautiful honors medallion. I graduated Magna Cum Laude.
I have to brag about my husband for a second. He was invited to be a part of Phi Kappa Phi because of his awesome grades. He has a straight 4.0 for his entire master's program!! He falls in the top 10% of graduate students, and will graduate Summa Cum Laude when he finishes in August. We're planning to go to Mississippi in December so he can walk. Can't wait!
And, my awesome friend, Ruachel, made these incredible cakes for us. Mine is a logo for UVU that makes a claw representing our mascot, the Wolverine. Dar's is his Mississippi State University logo. They were delicious!! Thanks again, Ruachel! You're amazing!!

And again, thanks to all of you who came to show your love and support at our party, and to those of you who wanted to be there but couldn't make it. We love you all and are so happy to have you in our lives!