Ronnie's Graduation Day

Ronnie with Dr. Alder

On his way into the ceremony

He finally spotted us!

With his favorite Professor

Ronnie graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Communication with honors!  I am so grateful and proud of Ronnie for his dedication and all of the hard work he put in to graduate!  If you ask him, he'll say it's not a big deal, so I thought I'd mention a few reasons why it IS a big deal that he graduated, with honors no less! In the four years it took Ronnie to graduate we:

• Got married
• Moved 4 times
• Switched jobs 4 times
• Started his own business
• I started and finished hair school
• We had Chloe
• Almost moved to China
• Sold all of our furniture
• Moved in with my parents
• Had to start all over again when China didn't work (including figuring out how to graduate)
• Moved into a new place right in the middle of his last semester

I'm not trying to say we've had it hard, because really, we've had a relatively simple and very blessed life-I'm just saying that's a lot of life going on when you're taking 13-18 credits a semester AND you keep your GPA above a 3.6.  So yes Ronnie, it is a big deal :D

Anywho-graduation day was a very wonderful and busy day!  We left Chloe with my cousin Kara (whom she calls "Wara") and went to the graduation luncheon.  Afterward we snapped a few shots and I left Ronnie to meet up with his Mom so that we could go to the Convocation.  The speakers were all amazing, but we were especially eager to hear President Monson speak and of course, we were not let down!  He has a such a warm and funny personality and it was fun to see him interact with President Nadauld (of DSC), including a friendly shoulder rub.  

President Monson spoke about the three bridges that all of us need in our lives:  1) The bridge of Attitude.  For Ronnie he affirmed that the "fake til you make it" attitude is not fake or bad, but instead it is a shift in our own thoughts and feelings when we act the way we know we should.  It really works and it should be used all the time!  We don't need to tell people how grumpy or upset or discouraged we may be, but instead act as if we are full of confidence and charity, and eventually, that is how we will be!  2)  The bridge of Integrity.  He spoke of a boy that was in one of his college classes who had cheated on a test.  He said that perhaps he went on to be very successful, but all he and his class mates could ever remember about him was that he was the boy that cheated.  Even in our world full of lies and ugliness, Integrity is still a quality that is valued and respected and it will get us the most gain in life.  3)  The bridge of Service.  He spoke about how service isn't just writing a check, but rather it is a personal, face to face thing.  We need to be interacting with those we serve and loving them.  It was so wonderful to be able to hear from our Prophet in such a personal way and especially on such an important day in our lives :)

Congrats Ronnie!!!!  We love you!!!!