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Here we are, Prospective Student — the last stage of the graduate experience. The MFA class of 2012 gathered with friends, family, and loved ones to the historic Chicago Theater to receive our hoods, diplomas, and freedom. It was a long three years to get to this spot, but the ceremony rolled on sweet, light, and with plenty of music. [flickr id=”7157326044″ thumbnail=”medium_640″ overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]

First off, I am a newcomer to the Chicago Theater. I’ve seen it countless times from the El, but I had never been inside. Wow. From the blazing marquee to the rolling staircases to the gold-filigreed elegance of the interior, the Chicago Theater was an amazing place to graduate.

Of course, the theater only housed the real spirit of the ceremony, that of Columbia’s R&B, Pop Rock, and Jazz ensembles. The musical territory that night ranged from The Doobie Brother’s Listen to the Music to Aerosmith’s Walk This Way…and even gospel legend (and honorary doctorate) Mavis Staples’s a cappella rendition of Will the Circle be Unbroken? The soundtrack pulled the audience to their feet to sing and clap with the energy.

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The InterArts graduates had plenty to sing about. The MFA exhibition has been receiving warm praise since its opening. All of our thesis papers and documentation had been turned into the InterArts office. We even had a night or two to sleep or celebrate (…or sleeping as celebration). We were downright chipper at the ceremony, trying to take in the moment as it was unfolding around us.

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Taking in the moment — such an easy, catchall term. I want to let you in on a little secret, Prospective Student: there is no way to completely take in this moment. It is overwhelming, heartwarming, and gut-wrenching. It is no big deal and everything that has defined you for three years. It is disorienting. I am still trying to piece together the moment days after it happened. I’m glad it happened, but the ripples of its effect are just now starting to reverberate inside me. I am smiling, yes. I am happy to be finished and with the people I have grown to love in the program. I imagine it’s the academic equivalent of marathon runners crossing the finish line — exhaustive euphoria.

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So, there is a need for contemplation…to suss these emotions out. I had a piece of this contemplation after I shook hands with President Carter and walked off the stage. There, a photographer told me where to stand, and two docents had to guide me back to my seat in the theater. I had no idea what to do after I had my diploma in hand — a fitting metaphor if there ever was one.

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Soon after, I regained my sense of balance and scope. I could laugh with my colleagues about how I had to duck down for the helper to put on my graduate hood. I could smile with equal parts irony and sincerity at my outfit of graduate robes, red bow tie, and sneakers. Each part meaning something to me — the bow tie a graduation gift from a friend, the sneakers from a performance my three media classmates and I collaborated on. Holding onto these things, these memories, I was able to ground myself in the spectacle around me.

And maybe have a little fun while I was at it too.

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