The Long Walk ... Again

I'm a bit of a Caucasian mutt: Hungarian, German, Irish and British. Translation: I'm pasty. I'm so white that I transform into a flaming torch whenever I come into contact with direct sunlight or stage lighting. The sun is my enemy, and must be avoided or thwarted (unless you're a fan of the flaky tomato look).

My first year at NDNU (2006-2007) I worked in the Office of Development, and I stuck around at the end of finals week in the spring to work Commencement. Enter my nemesis. As you've gathered by now, the sun burns my skin to a crisp. Sometimes it brings another evil ... heat. Get some AstroTurf, add a pinch of sun, and I have my own personal furnace. But I was prepared for this battle; I packed some water and slathered on the sunscreen. I soaked up this wonderful tradition where graduates are sent into the world armed with their NDNU education and a few words of wisdom from the Commencement speaker (Jackie Speier that year - she was fabulous). Turns out I soaked up a few too many rays as well. I returned to my dorm, took off my official polo, and found ... gasp! The reddest triangle on my chest that I'd ever seen! Apparently I missed a spot. Sun-1, Claire-0. To this day, I'm still faintly discolored there, and that triangle comes out a little in the sun. I guess you could say NDNU made its mark on me that day.

Last spring, after working Commencement in 2007 and 2009, I made the long walk down the AstroTurf aisle (in 4-inch stilettos - that's an experience) and the temporary stage in my own Commencement. It was the first time I'd worn a cap and gown (we did the white dress thing in high school), and suddenly I was the one trying to figure out how to do my makeup for my special day, what to wear under my gown, which shoes to wear (the most important consideration), how to put on that weird hood thing, and the angle at which I should pin my cap. All of that for a long walk that now seems like a few seconds memorialized in a flurry of photographs.

This year, I turned the tables yet again. I walked onto the field in my staff shirt, armed with a video camera and SPF 80 sunscreen. Someone asked, "When are you doing this?" and I gently reminded them that I had graduated the previous year. Apparently I'm such a fixture on campus that some students didn't notice that I transitioned seamlessly from a full-time undergraduate student, part-time student worker to a full-time employee, part-time graduate student.

I think I prefer being on this side, watching our latest initiates into the community of alumni at NDNU. Not having to worry about my cap staying bobby pinned to my head or falling over in my impractical shoes keeps my eyes and ears open to the energy shared by all of the graduates, faculty, staff, family and friends: their bliss and excitement, their worries and fears. Commencement is a day when everyone has the same understanding: it's the beginning of the rest of these graduates' lives. So, graduates, I wish you the best, and remember that you always have a home at NDNU.

P.S. The score is Sun-1, Claire-3.