The Gardiner Gossip: A Long Awaited Day...GRADUATION DAY!!!

In October of 2005 I applied for acceptance to Brigham Young University, and four months later I was accepted. Nicole and I left behind a lot of good things in WA that we had worked very hard for. We did this with the hope and belief that we were working towards a better future. I wanted to get my Masters degree in Accounting from BYU. Yesterday, after a lot of time, a lot of hard work, a lot of stress, and a lot of support from my loving family, I graduated from BYU with my Bachelors and Masters degrees in accounting. It was a great, but long day. We had a reception at the Tanner Building from 2:30-3:30pm.

I had to be at the Marriott Center at 4pm and the rest of my family had to be in their seats by 4:30pm. I got my cap and gown on, got my seating card, and found my seat. I called Nicole to tell her where I was sitting and to let me know where they were sitting so I could try and see them from across the Marriott Center. By the time everyone had arrived it was Nicole and the kids, my mom and dad, my sisters: Kristina (and her son Jaydon), Carolee, and Julianne, my uncle Kevin and aunt Debbie, Nicole's aunt Cecille, and our neighbors Joe & Allie. I had a fun surprise for Nicole. They have this thing you can wear called a Stole of Gratitude that you give to someone who has supported you through your schooling. I didn't tell Nicole that I had gotten one and I put it on with my cap and gown. When Nicole called me to tell me where she was sitting and to find out where I was, she was surprised to see me wearing the stole.

I gave it to her after graduation was over.

Nicole had a genius idea--she put "UP" and "Monsters Inc." on her iPod, and it kept Andrew entertained during the graduation.

The graduation started a little bit later than it was supposed to, but they did the processional and all the graduates headed down to the floor. Dean Cornia shared some very interesting statistics by asking the graduates to stand up in response to his questions. It was amazing to see how many students were international students, how many were return missionaries, how many speak multiple languages, and how few have not eaten at J-Dawgs. It was also interesting to find out that the graduates of the Marriott school account for 17% of all BYU graduates, and those graduating with a Masters degree from the Marriott school account for 43% of all BYU Masters graduates. J. Willard Marriott Jr. was the guest speaker, and it was very cool to hear from the man whose family name is born by both the BYU business school and the Marriott Center where we were graduating. As a gift to Mr. Marriott all of the graduates signed a piece of the floor of the Marriott Center.

After Mr. Marriott gave his speech, they began going through the graduates. There were a lot of graduates--luckily I was fairly close to the top of the list. I walked,

shook some hands,

got my diploma (a fake one anyway),

and went and sat back down. As they kept reading off names and I realized that I was going to be there for a very long time, I decided to sneak out and meet up with my family. We took a bunch of pictures outside, then I turned in my cap and gown and we headed home.