Graduation

This weekend, I graduated from grad school! Though I think the OTD degree is devalued a bit by the DPT, which is now required as entry-level for physical therapists/not research-based, but I now could go by Dr. Joyce/D professionally if I choose. Whether I use it depends on the setting, but I certainly feel as though my efforts have earned it. I already am looking back and have no idea how I completed what I did in eight months. Mind over matter combined with some top-notch guidance, I guess. 

Anyhow, three sets of people who played a key role came in for the festivities. Mom and Dad flew in Wednesday morning. We went to a great burger spot, Bailey's Range. EVERYTHING there, including their ice cream, is homemade in-house. It was fun to have an opportunity to explore new places. 

Both were tired, so we did a little trading off and napping before Dad and I went to a Cardinal's game. We beat the Mets quite cleanly in a 4-2 victory. We're 28 and 15 right now for the season. Woo. 

The next day, both sets of grandparents came in. Here I am showing them my "speaker bio's" and abstracts in conference materials. I showed them around my dorm before heading out to an open house at school.

We ate at a little Italian restaurant, which just reminds me why I love St. Louis. All these completely unique restaurants! No one eats at Applebee's or Outback here. Once again, like many STL restaurants, all the food was locally grown and made in-house.

The next day I woke up bright and early to look pretty for graduation. Too much of a bother to do every day, but it was fun for the weekend (though when I came home, I immediately changed into running shorts).

In a minor crisis, you can see I am photographed without a hood. This was pre-graduation. I picked up my robe and hat at the WU bookstore. It didn't include a hood, and I didn't know that it was supposed to. I figured, like college, it was something that they'd have there.


Mom's parents

 Dad's parents

 My parents

As the doors opened to seat people in the chapel where we graduated, I found out that we were supposed to have received them with our robe. THIS IS A PROBLEM, not just because they're decorative, but because my mentor was supposed to hood me. Querying on-site staff revealed that we didn't have any extra's. Dr. King offered to lend me hers, but she went to Mizzou, so being the only person hooded in gold would have been weird. I ran into a kind teacher, who lent me hers. Sigh of relief. Process into the chapel (bride and groom not included. It's just to show where the OT ceremony was).

Here I am processing with the newly-borrowed hood draped over my arm.

Then things became official.


Ashley, Dr. King, and I post-ceremony. As she said to Ashley "I benefited from doing it to Joyce first." This basically means that as she was hooding me, the fabric was first over my eyes, then up nose, then in my mouth, then in its proper position. The musicians and people in the front few rows laughed. I was nearly strangled, people. I laughed too.

OTD class pyramid. We fell when trying to get the next layer on. The robes made that a bit harder.

Mom told dad and I to look at each other. Awkward. This was the result.

Mom and I

The sleeves. I actually had to wear my glasses, because I ran through my contacts (eye infection that lasted 6 weeks) and hadn't re-ordered them. At the same time, I didn't want them in pictures/when I was processing. Easy solution. Literally slipped them up the sleeve, and there they sat, only to be whipped out when I wanted to wear them. 

All the OTs went to our class' favorite bar, Tom's, late that night for one last Karaoke night. I don't subject people to my singing unless in larger groups (I'm terrible), but it was fun to do a few class songs and see classmates go solo. I closed out the night with a Schlafley and a Budweiser, two of our STL beers. 

Everyone left yesterday. Today I've run, read, and written. Perfect day, if you ask me. 

Tomorrow begins 3 weeks of my apprenticeship in the King lab. I'll write more on that later.