How I Contributed to University of Montana Graduation Ceremonies
It was fast, stressful, difficult and more rewarding and a bigger honor than I even imagined it would be.
A co-worker, Peter Christian, and I were asked to announce the names of of the University of Montana graduates as they came up on stage to receive their diplomas on Saturday. We were so flattered to be asked and so nervous we would mangle a lot of the names. But with the help of a preparatory website and also the help of index cards each grad had to hand us as they came up the ramp with their names boldly printed on them (and which included a space where they could write phonetic pronunciation notes), I think we nailed all but a few. That in spite of being expected to announce each name every three to four seconds. Over 2,000 names later, I hope we did them proud!
We were also treated to an excellent commencement address from Eric Sprunk, a Missoula guy, Hellgate High School (GO KNIGHTS) and University of Montana alum and C.O.O. of Nike.
So a big thank you to the University of Montana. It was an honor to represent my alma mater. I don't know if we did well enough to be invited back, but if so, I'd say yes again in a heartbeat!