Graduation!!
- labevan
- Dec 3, 2014
- 3 min read
Last week was my BA Film Studies graduation!
It was a lovely day - I got to see friends and coursemates that I haven't seen for about 5 months, so it was nice to have a quick catch up. My parents, sister, boyfriend and paternal grandparents came along, so it was really nice to share the experience, celebrations and joy with them.
It was held at The Centeur, Cheltenham Racecourse; initially I was slightly skeptical of the location, but after seeing the decor and space used, I thought it worked well. Plus the pictures outside worked well (see below) as we had the lovely hills in the background.
I was also sceptical about the ceremony being in November, but luckily it stayed dry, and was only slightly chilly. However, in addition to better weather, I would have prefered to have the ceremony in the summer like most ceremonies as for me personally, I have a lot of Uni work on with my Marketing Masters, and the graduation was right in the middle of a load of deadlines, and I had to miss an important lecture that was unable to be rescheduled. Also, a good proportion of my friends have found jobs, and therefore could stay the night to celebrate, and had to go home that evening to be ready for work the next day.
I did wish the people taking photos throughout the day would have taken more; they could have used the graduation as an opportunity to get photography and film students using the event for free photographic and film event experience.
As it was only in the afternoon, and I as well my coursemates had other plans after such as meals or travelling back home, it would have been nicer if we had more time to go round and chat to everyone - it felt like a bit of a rush having to queue up, and get the official photo done, get some memorabilia, and so on. I really wished I had the chance to have more pictures with friends and coursemates in our gowns, and I also wish we could have had a course picture like a few others did - unfortunately a lot of us were lost following the crowd all heading for the exit and to reunite with our tearful and proud families.
The cost of the gown and hat was ridiculous considering we only wore it for a few hours, and that the gowns themselves didn't actually fit, so a lot of peoples didn't look right, or in my case, constantly needed to adjust it; I think the Uni should have their own gowns, and not go through a third party, and either have custom fit one, or least have it so that we didn't have to pay so much to hire them, it would be free to borrow, or at least cheap - pay a bit toward cleaning them and having them given to us.
But overall, I am really proud of my achievement of getting a 2:1 in BA Film Studies - a course oftne unrecognised for its difficulty, skills it provides, and importance/relevance to society. And I am lucky enough to get to go to another graduation in a year or so for my Msc Marketing degree (at the same Uni). I will definitely make sure to take even more pictures next time.
Going to university has been one of the best decisions I have ever made; it has made me grow in confidence in terms of public speaking and interaction with others, I have learned many new skills both academic, like being able to do extensive analysis, as well as learning to live independently, and also with other different individuals. I have learnt to budget my money, create new friends, some of which I hope will be life-long, and also have a create deal of fun. I have tried to get involved as much as possible to enhance my overall experience in addition to my CV, such as doing an internship, volunteering, and being a Student Ambassador - a job that I really enjoy and value. The last years have flown by, and I know this Masters year will be even quicker; before I know it, I will be entering the big wide world... eek!
xox L xox
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