An important post! I defended my thesis last week! It was a very high emotion moment.  I luckily was surrounded by an amazing committee, friends, and family.  

My committee consisted of my dream team.  Sunghyun Kang, was my major professor and without her weekly meetings to keep me on track and her great and patient advice, I would have been behind and way more stressed out.  She was a guiding light throughout the whole process. While this is what a major professor is suppose to do, I feel as though she went beyond the call of duty at times to help me. I am extremely grateful she agreed to be on my committee.

Bernard Canniffe, was the next committee member on my dream team.  He is the one that helped me fully realize my passion and help me become a more confident individual.  While I know that the thesis subject was not entirely what he and I believed it would be, he never once gave up or asked to leave.  He instead continued to advise on thesis topics, applying for jobs, interviews, and making it through rough teaching experiences.  While everyone who is on my committee is a hero, Bernard is one of my major heroes.  I look up to him professionally and as a caring individual. He inspires positive change where ever he goes and it is magical to watch.

Next is Paula Curran, who I have always looked up to since the first day I had class with her.  She is so amazing.  I believe there is a post on this blog that is just about her. She is not only an amazing typographer, she is also the one that showed me the power of paying attention to the details.  Her lesson in the details caused me to really analyze my thesis topic, research, writing, and presenting.  Her inclusion on my committee was extremely important and I am glad she was able to be a part of my research. 

Finally and certainly not least, is my outside area committee member Connie Hargrave.  She made such a huge impact on my thesis by recommending the CI 503 course I took with Anna Paula Correia.  She mentioned at the end of my defense, she was happy to have been asked on my committee and she remembered me walking into her office to ask her to be on the committee.  She said looking back she laughs at the nervous and shy girl that was scared to ask her to be on her committee, and looking at me know how much I have changed. She said I had become more confident.  That comment meant a great deal to me.

The defense went great! I spent so much money on food....but that is beyond the point. haha I gave my presentation and my committee came up with great questions at the end of the presentation.  While I admit some of the questions threw me off guard, I do believe I answered them fairly well.  After all the questions, the committee asks the graduate and extra visitors to leave the room while they make a decision on whether the graduate student passes.  I waited out in the hallway with my mom, brother and friend Julian. I have seen the decision process take a long time, but luckily mine only took about 15 minutes, if that. As I walked back into the room, my major professor whispers congratulations! Yay! I passed! How very wonderful! 

I have some changes to make with my thesis, which I hope to get started on tonight.  Before I end this blog, I will say one last thank you to all involved in the defense and all the people along the way.  My dream team committee, my family, friends, classmates, and anyone who answered my questions at ISU. Thank you to everyone for making this graduation possible. 

I am a bit behind in updating my blog here.  Life has been crazy busy since the last post. Between graduation, thesis defense, working 40-50hrs a week and my father passing away....well, it should surpass to say time has gotten away from me. There will be a few posts made over the weekend to catch this all up. Today's post is about graduating. 

Graduation was all the way back at the beginning of May.  It was such a wonderful day.  The day started off with my grandparents coming to visit, my dad buying me flowers, and other good news that will have its own post....oh and there was CAKE! Yum! 

Graduation was pretty cool.  I was able to sit next to my friend Brennan, who is seriously one of the coolest cats I know.  He is currently living in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  Graduate graduation is much shorter in length.  I wish I had some cords I could have worn, but it seems the only way to earn cords in graduate school even if you have a high GPA, is to be given them by chance...to be thrown into a drawing of the best of the best. Oh well! At least the cord on my hat stayed on that day.  During undergrad, the year had fallen off my cord and I was super bummed.

I am including some of the typical graduation day selfies that happen when you are celebrating the survival of the gantlet.  Just kidding.  It really wasn't bad.  Of course there were moments all of us in grad-school together had breakdowns (it is expected), but in the end there was a lot more laughing, learning, and friendships being made that I wouldn't pass up if given the chance to do it all over again. 

I am really happy looking back that my family was able to attend this event.  It meant a lot my parents came to both graduations. Iowa State University does their graduations in two parts, the big one with all the departments (separated by grads and undergrads), they also have small department graduations. Graphic design grads walk ahead of the graphic design undergrads. Both are worth attending.  I have always figured it was closure and it was a honor I deserved after all the work.

Oh! One final thing to note is, I didn't fall during any of the graduation ceremonies.  That is a win! I told my friend Brennan that I had the plan that if I fall, I will jump up, take a bow, and then raise my arms in the arm saying "Im ok!"  He mentioned that I was the only person he probably knew that had a backup plan for falling.  It is true.  I am a clumsy person.

Ok! Well enjoy the photos. Depending on how tired I am tonight after work, I may come home and make another post! I need to get into the habit of writing more often and practicing my writing skills. Also, I need to make edits to my thesis paper. I am hoping that getting some quick writing out here will help me in that area. :p