Flashback: Amy's UConn Graduation

Amy in her graduation robe by a lake on the UConn campus.

It's not that unusual for me to flip back a few years to write about something that happened previously, especially because I lived a long time before starting this blog, but in flipping through the posts from the past year, I realized I completely skipped a milestone of our family's life: Amy's graduation from UConn in May of 2012. It's hard to believe that our baby girl is grown up.  It seems like yesterday that she was the size of our granddaughter Emma. 

Jay, Julie and I flew to New York, where we thought we'd have just enough time to meet granddaughter Emma and her parents at Central Park for a brief visit, but rain changed the plan, bringing us to their new apartment in Hudson Heights instead. They were still in the process of unpacking, so the timing of our visit could have been better, but it was good seeing everybody, and we took a pleasant walk to a smaller park near their home.





Jay did most of the heavy-lifting Tetris work.

Gina joined us on the train to New Haven, where we had an economy car rented. At the Hertz counter, Jay and I convinced the manager to rent us a Lincoln Towncar for just a few dollars more than the price of adding Jay as a second driver on the car, and we headed back to the train station to pick up the girls, Jay writing our family name on a sign like a limo driver would use for a station pickup.

We enjoyed having the land yacht for the trip, and with the amount of luggage Amy had to pack, we needed all of the cavernous trunk and more.



Jay and the King

In contrast to our deluxe transportation, we stayed at the Baymont Inn, a funky little hotel in Manchester on our visit in the fall.

Dr. Gina recommended breakfast

It again proved to be a good home base, with a complimentary breakfast every morning.









Amy at dining hall

Everything went by like a whirlwind. We enjoyed some meals on campus and helped Amy finish packing, bidding farewell to a UConn folding chair that we had bought for a tailgate party in September among other possessions that were sacrificed in the move. 



Graduating Class of the Daily Campus and future Pulitzer Prize Winners

On her way

Though I hadn't been the one to go to school there, I felt sadness to leave this campus and all the friends and activities Amy enjoyed during her three years.  On the one hand, I was happy at the prospects of her returning home to California, though I knew it would be for just a brief time before she returned east to begin her Dow Jones Internship at the New York Times. 

Amy's dorm.

On the other, it was hard to fathom that my baby girl's college career could possibly be over already.  In fact, I tried to convince her to go to graduate school, but she felt ready to start her career as a journalist.




When the graduation ceremony arrived, it was pomp and circumstance punctuated by the occasional long-winded, liberally-biased speaker. 



Graduation Card

When Amy's name was called, we of course cheered, as well we should have.  She graduated Summa Cum Laude, with Honors and Highest Honors, in a double major of Journalism and Anthropology. 



The Proud Family



We had a celebration dinner at Chuck's Margarita Grill in Storrs.  Jay had a flight home from New York, and he drove with Gina to return the car and then stayed an extra night in New York with Gina. 



Wes hoisting some of Amy's luggage.

Before leaving Hartford, they dropped Julie, Amy and I at the Hartford Airport, where we learned that even after trimming down Amy's load we still had bags beyond the weight limit, so we bought a Southwest duffle and redistributed her stuff to have the minimum financial impact.

While the last re-packing was an inglorious end, make no mistake that we enjoyed a wonderful time in New England for Amy's final weekend of college.



Summa Cum Laude With Honors and Highest Honors

Do we really need another picture Mom?