<p>Congratulations to Maize & Blue and her daughter - who just graduated today! Good luck to her future endeavors, and I hope M&B will still pop in to share her Carleton wisdom.</p>
<p>Yes, congrats to you and your D, M&B! And many thanks for your help and wisdom during S's first year at Carleton. It has gone sooooo quickly--and very well. S had a wonderful freshman year, and a lot of it has been due to the guidance we found from other Carls and Carl 'rents here on CC.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! I'm barely able to keep my eyes open after a very long day today. The clouds gave way to blue sky at 9am after an early morning rainstorm, just in time for the 9:20 ceremony start. My Minneapolis SIL, a terrific chef, hosted a fabulous family party that just broke up. Wonderful, prideful day. I'll post more details later after I get back home tomorrow.</p>
<p>Some parents of graduates posted detailed descriptions of the graduation on the Carleton Parent Email Forum. Check out their nice reviews. The location was a serene setting under the oak trees facing east in front of Laird Hall, the sun peeking in and out between the branches. The excellent student speakers were chosen by their peers and were followed by speeches delivered by two recipients of honorary degrees. I loved Dean Scott Bierman's booming announcements of each student's name as she/he progressed across the stage to receive her/his diploma. I suspect the audience numbered around 2500. We had 10 family members attend, and I noticed much larger groups. I think all seats had a good view of the stage, and arriving 30-40 minutes early was plenty of time to stake out a section of good seats.</p>
<p>After the 2 hour ceremony, students, families & friends, and Carleton professors gathered on the west side of the Bald Spot for congratulations and pictures. Lunch was available in a large tent erected next to the Chapel. Then it was off to help with the move out. D estimated that it would be an easy 1 hour job. NOT! She had hardly started the packing and organizing and was constantly interrupted by sophomore and junior friends stopping by to say goodbye. She ran off a few times to catch some of her senior friends for one last farewell. My H took over and quickly filled up garbage bags of things to toss and things to donate at the annual Carleton Garage Sale. She may never figure out where some stuff went. We made countless trips up and down 3 flights of stairs in Burton for about 3 hours during the heat of the afternoon. My thighs are still smarting from the stairwell exercise. Fortunately, we had parked her car right at Burton's front steps. D & H made it back yesterday after a 2 1/2 day drive. Today she is wearing a bright yellow Carleton "renew, return, reunion" t-shirt and enjoying a well-deserved do-nothing day. It's so nice to have her home.</p>
<p>limner & ffscout ~ Thanks again for your well-wishes. I'll hang around to read about your kids' adventures in Northfield.</p>
<p>M&B, thanks so much for the graduation recounting. This year seems to have flown by, so I can imagine that graduation will be here before we know it. Love your D's t-shirt!</p>
<p>Limnerson stayed on campus for a few days to train summer workers in his work/study job (he decided he didn't want to stay for the summer) and then headed to Chicago for a couple of weeks before coming home. He took the Greyhound from Minneapolis but called me at 4 a.m. ("Oh, sorry, Mom, I forgot what time it was") to tell me that they were being turned back in Wisconsin due to mudslides. I was slightly freaked out, but he got back into the cities about 7 a.m., went to a Starbucks and used his laptop to book himself a flight for Chicago leaving the next day and a hotel room near the airport. So, aside from telling time, Carleton seems to be equipping him with life skills--or, at least, travel skills--in addition to academic skills.</p>
<p>M&B, thank you for the recap. I'm glad the sun came out and everything went off beautifully!</p>
<p>Limner - LOL about your son acquiring life skills!</p>
<p>D just returned last week from her study abroad program in Maastricht. She is now a seasoned European traveler, having gone to The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. Not sure how she managed to miss Switzerland, though. And she learned all about European unions and how their frequent strikes affect travel arrangements. The program was amazing, and D learned quite a bit about EU policies and politics. She's very interested in returning to Belgium next summer for an internship.</p>
<p>ffscout, I was wondering how your D liked the Mastricht program! When did she do most of her traveling? Before? After? On weekends? All of the above? I'm so jealous! ;)</p>
<p>Believe me, you aren't the only one jealous!</p>
<p>As a group, they go to Brussels (NATO and EU), Luxembourg (World Court) and Paris. Classes are Tuesday - Thursday, so there are long weekends for exploring. The second half of the term they are split into research groups and will visit various countries to interview local officials. D and some others stayed after the term ended and toured Salzburg, Venice, and Florence.</p>
<p>It sounds fantastic. I think the one thing that keeps my S from seriously considering this program is that it next occurs during his final term at Carleton. He doesn't want to spend his final term abroad.</p>