A Luncheon of Pride Sandwiches

I was honored to be asked to speak at this year’s Granite State College induction ceremony of the Alpha Sigma Lambda honor society members over the weekend. I was thrilled to recognize so many faces of fellow classmates from Concord NH classes as well as seeing the faces for the first time of classmates from online classes for college amongst the inductees. It is one thing to have your parents share in such an honor but it is a totally different experience to have your parents, spouse and children share in the celebration of one’s accomplishments along the way of attaining their adult college degree. I became teary eyed as those I knew, and those I had never before met, accepted their pins and spoke of their gratitude and love for the family members that have supported them in their pursuit of academic excellence. Most everyone present had parents, siblings, grandparents, and children in attendance.

There was one classmate, or more adequately identified as a friend, who’s teenage son nearly knocked over a row of chairs in his quest to get pictures of the mom he was so proud of. Another friend’s adult sibling ran up to the stage unconcerned with blocking the view of the audience to assure he got the pictures he wanted of his sister in her proud moment of being pinned into the honor society. I could not help but notice the pride, love and admiration of the wife of a fellow online classmate and acquaintance of mine. This woman beamed as her wife accepted the honor and thanked God for the opportunity.

The 37 students inducted into the Honor Society this past weekend were all the “meat” in pride sandwiches. They had the love, support and pride from the generation above, their parents, and from the generation below, their children. There simply is not a better tasting sandwich than this!

Congratulations to all of this year’s inductees.