graduation

this was hands down my favorite part of graduation. the traditional rowandan drummers. they played while the students were processing in & processing out. so awesome. seriously. so awesome.

watching this graduation again made me realize how lucky i am. the graduates from this class were most likely the first in their family to graduate not only from college but also from secondary school, which is the equivalent of 8th grade to 12th grade. this all while overcoming some sort of hardship along the way. one woman took 10 years to complete her secondary school education due to what we would consider early marriage, financial strife & a myriad of other obstacles. another student is a child soldier from sudan. he had no formal schooling until he left the army at the age of 20 years old! even then, he was considered too old to join a formal primary school (to be honest, i wouldn't want a 20 year old dude learning with my 6 year old daughter or son either) but here he is graduating from college. both his mother & father were killed & e cannot contain his excitement to return to his home of south sudan, where he has not been since he was 12 years old, to teach reading & literature in secondary schools. the courage of these students is humbling. even more so than the students but the sacrifice of the faculty in this department all for the good of the student. the director works tirelessly with the college administration to ensure these students are able to attain their education despite financial issues along with personal issues. it is amazing.