University at Buffalo Admissions' Student Bloggers

Graduation Weekend!

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:00:56 +0000

Here’s a little taste of UB’s College of Arts and Sciences Graduation Ceremony! It was a looooong day that started at 8:30 am! The ceremony was from about 10-12:30. I went out and celebrated with my family and my boyfriend’s family afterwards in my hometown, East Aurora. I was a really long day, but so exciting and so worth it.

Before the students get up and walk across to get their diploma, they do about an hour of special honors and awards mixed in with some speeches. One of my former professors, Diane Christian got an award and it was wonderful seeing her accept it. She was my professor for Heaven, Hell, and Judgement, which was a really tough, (but worth it in the end) class. She also co-taught Great Film Directors with her husband Bruce Jackson. That class was cool because it was open to the community and held off campus in the city of Buffalo at the Market Arcade Theater. I’m glad she was recognized for all her hard work at the university, I don’t think I know an English major who hasn’t taken a class with her!

This is after we “officially graduated” because as you can see, my tassel is on the left side.

This was Senator Charles Schumer, who stopped by to give a very funny speech in the middle of the ceremony. His message was to “Go for it!”

Based on my GPA, I graduated Summa Cum Laude, which translated to English means, “the highest honors”. You’ll also see I’m wearing those ropes of different colors. The gold ones are for the Latin honors. I have two that are gold and maroon, and those are for the Tau Sigma Honor Society and the National Society for Collegiate Scholars. The black and silver cords are from the Society of Leadership and Success.

At UB there are commencement ceremonies that run from Thursday until Sunday for all different departments and awards. My department, the English department, chose to hold a separate ceremony congratulating us on Friday, which was just as special as the big ceremony on Sunday.

This is a picture of me and Professor Barbara Bono, who taught me all I know about Shakespeare! I feel very lucky to have been a part of her classes. The last thing she taught me, was how to wear the hood on my graduation gown.

I’m thrilled to have graduated from UB, I feel like the time I spent here went by too fast. I think posting about graduation is the best way to wrap up my time as a blogger for admissions so I’m going to leave this as my last post. I’ve had so much fun, thanks for reading!

Summer Plans

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:54:52 +0000

I’ve got a lot planned for this summer and I’m really excited that it’s here! As far as work goes, I’m going to be doing some babysitting and I’ll be giving some North Campus tours. I’m also going to be moving at some point, when I find a new place, so hopefully that search isn’t too stressful. Finding housing can be one of the most stressful parts of college and even though I’m a graduate, I might still find myself in student-type housing. For my personal goals, I’m going to spend a lot of time reading and relaxing too. I haven’t been able to read the books I want to read in so long! My Goodreads TBR list is out of control. I’m also going to spend some time learning new recipes. I love cooking, but during the school year, it’s hard to justify spending more than thirty minutes preparing a meal when I have so many other things that need my attention. One of my other goals is to try and continue blogging somewhere else, so I might give that a try as well. I start my job in August so my break is cut a bit shorter than it usually is, but I don’t mind at all. I’m so happy to have this time off to relax and get my energy levels back to where they need to be before starting classes again. But I won’t lie, I’m also really looking forward to my new program and what the next two years at UB is going to feel like.

Thanks for reading my blog this past year, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
-Cecelia

Summer time in Buffalo

Sat, 11 May 2013 01:29:17 +0000

Summer time in my FAVORITE time in Buffalo. You can do so many amazing things here–it’s like there’s an opportunity every where you look. For starters, you can take advantage of UB’s summer classes. I took Spanish 151 on campus two years ago, and it was great because I was able to get it out of the way. It wasn’t too much of an inconvenience because it was every day for an hour and a half in the morning so I wasn’t missing any beach time, festivals, or s’mores. There’s a pretty good selection and I know a lot of my friends like to take care of requirements during the summer so they can do less during the academic year, graduate early, or study abroad.

Another reason I love summers in Buffalo is that we have dozens of festivals. Now this list here is just a compiled list of food events that we’re hosting this summer. There are a bunch of other festivals in the area, I know my hometown East Aurora does this big Sidewalk Sale one day and the Roycroft Art festival. I’m also a big fan of the Erie County fair (AKA America’s fair). And of course you can’t forget music! I’ve got a few dates picked out to go to Thursdays at Canalside and Artpark. Between showings of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Measure for Measure in Delaware Park and going to some of these events, I’m going to have a busy, busy summer!