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If only we could bottle the feeling at commencement.

I say that every year, just after the parents and grandparents and friends have appeared at the ceremony, dressed up and puffed up, taking photos and giving hugs. Faculty put on their academic garb and become fans who applaud the hard work both personal as well as academic for which the students are recognized. Students, in a couple of short hours, are transformed into alumni and are ready for whatever comes their way.

If only we could bottle the buzz at commencement. I'm fond of such summarizing statements. I think the process of coming up with pithy statements is a way of getting to the heart of a matter. Truths need not be complicated.

Navigating day-to-day life at a university, on the other hand, can be complicated. Financial aid forms and registration regulations, class projects, exams and essays, social lives and student activities are the tip of the iceberg. Similar to that of, say, a very large family, there are discussions and disagreements, triumphs and near misses all day every day.

But at graduation ceremonies, we put aside all that business and savor the achievement, the immense satisfaction of having cleared the hurdles and reached our goals.

It is my great privilege to be involved with launching NDSU magazine, a medium for bottling, a chance to capture the pride and possibility of those Saturday mornings in May.

-Laura McDaniel
laura.mcdaniel@ndsu.edu