What to REALLY, really avoid doing at graduation…

… if at all humanely possible, avoid being at the front of the staff procession. (‘Don’t walk too fast!’ ‘Watch out for the sound desk and don’t walk in to it!’ And, after that, ‘don’t worry, you’ll not trip up after all!’)

However, being the last of the academic staff processing out does have its advantages, not least being next to all the newly-graduated academic colleagues… well, the ones that got their PhDs. (Which reminds me, I need to get around to deciding my honours thesis.)

Actually, it’s actually not bad at all, but it was an unexpected thing that was sprung on me. Definitely a fun time was had.

(At the Victoria University of Wellington graduation at the local town hall – the evening one for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences – on 14 December 2006. Due to WCE merger oddness, my programme's BA major graduands – I’m just a tutor, mind – can’t choose to graduate in the teachers’ college ceremony the following afternoon, yet the PhD graduands get sent there.)

And I never thought I’d need that BA gown again that I hired for my own BA graduation.