Graduation marks end of SMU journey

As students packed their belongings and said summer good-byes inmid-May, some were giving and receiving farewells for perhaps thefinal time.

May 15 saw one chapter end and another begin for the SMU Classof 2004, as commencement ceremonies marked the grand finale on theHilltop for graduates.

This year’s class accumulated 2,013 degrees, a recordhigh.

Some graduates were not struck by the terrific magnitude oftheir special day until the fanfare had ceased.

“During the actual weekend there were so many differentceremonies to get through,” said Hannah Seddlemeyer, whowalked across the Meadows School of the Arts stage to receive herdegree in journalism.

“It hasn’t even hit me yet,” she said.”I still feel like I’m just going away for thesummer.”

Seddlemeyer, a Corpus Christi native who will travel north toUNT in pursuit of a master’s degree in journalism this fall,expressed mixed emotions about the end of her four-year stay atSMU.

“While I’m glad that all my work is over,” shesaid, “I’m kind of sad for it to be over.”

Dallas native Robert W. Quach, who leaves SMU with a degree infinance, shares much of the same split sentiment asSeddlemeyer.

“I’m sad but excited because I’m going to adifferent university with new experiences,” he said.

Quach plans to pursue his master’s degree in highereducation administration with a concentration in college studentpersonnel at the University of Kansas, where he will also work as ahall director.

“I’ll always cherish my memories and friends madewhile I was at SMU,” he said.

The individual schools across campus also held their ownceremonies, including the Cox School of Business, Perkins School ofTheology, School of Engineering, Dedman School of Law and MeadowsSchool of the Arts.

Just as soon as the ceremonies began, they ended with thousandsof happy graduates, families and friends.

Likewise, the commencement speech, delivered by U.S. Ambassadorto Mexico Antonio O. Garza, Jr., may not have been lengthy in termsof time or words, though it did leave a lasting impression on allin attendance.

“[Ambassador Garza] was actually short and sweet and tothe point, which was perfect,” Quach said.

In his speech, Garza encouraged graduates to, “patyourself on the back and smile as everyone tells you how proud theyare of you. They mean it.”

He also promoted a lifetime of open-mindedness and willingnessto accept change, while still maintaining a grip on the memories ofthe past, something that Valerie Lu has already done, although shewill not be away from the Hilltop for very long.

“I think [graduation] is a little different for me, sinceI will be attending SMU Law in the fall,” she said.

And while her quest for a law degree has yet to begin, Lu hasalready taken into account the great memories of her undergraduatedays, days that seemed to speed by as rapidly as the commencementceremonies did.

“About the past four years…it’s a weirdfeeling,” she said, “because it seems like it has beena long four years that all went by so fast.”

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