Ok, that's a clickbait, but not totally untrue. I didn't graduate, it was my kiddo nephew. I'm not posting to gloat, it's just that I'm incredibly proud of him, and can't resisting sharing these happy but not quite perfect moments.
Anybody who is, or knows anybody who went to university in the past 18 months will know that university life is not what it should be like. Most lectures, had to be held virtually online, as were exams. At the peak of Covid, students were asked not to return to campus after term holidays, and those who couldn't go home, stayed indoors most of the time. No social life, no meeting new friends, no student parties, no lab or practical experience, no face to face tutoring. No nothing. This is one of the college libraries at Cambridge University. Term had finished and it was empty, but signs of Covid still remained.
The worse thing was that there were no graduation ceremonies. All in person graduation ceremonies were cancelled in 2020, and many universities still did not hold any in 2021. Cambridge University resumed its graduation ceremonies this year, but it was a much watered-down version held in accordance to social distance rules. Normally graduands can invite 2 guests to the ceremony which is held at this remarkable 18th century Senate House.
This year no guests were allowed inside, and they could only watch via a private livestream. Families and friends, who normally would have sat down inside to witness this special moment could only cheer and clap for the graduands as the procession entered the Senate House. The procession is the start of the Cambridge University graduation ceremony. Although I don't know these students, I felt so emotional watching them, knowing how hard they must have worked to get into one of the top universities in the world. How they couldn't experience the full university student life because of Covid. And how Covid robbed them and their families off a very important moment.
Cambridge University's graduation ceremony is conducted in Latin and specific words are spoken as part of the process. Once inside Senate House, each graduand is led by the Praelector and presented to the Vice Chancellor or his deputy. (A Praelector is a traditional role of the University to present graduands during the ceremony.) The graduand then kneels before the Vice Chancellor, who clasps his or her hands and confers the degree to them. Then the graduand rises and bows before leaving the Senate House, out to Senate House Passage. Once you're here, congratulations!!! You've graduated from Cambridge University.
During the ceremony, there's normally some physical contact between the Praelector, graduand and Vice Chancellor. Due to social distance all this was eliminated and no words were were spoken. Each graduand walked up to the Vice-Chancellor by themselves, bowed and left. That's it.
My kiddo nephew felt very disappointed with this arrangement but there was nothing he could do due to social distancing. And since his parents couldn't make it to UK, he decided to graduate in absence, meaning he will still graduate, but can attend a graduation ceremony in future. He's hoping when things get better, and proper ceremonies are held, he can attend with his parents in presence.
Some may say this is just a ceremony, that all the pomps is very superficial, and all that really matters is you've graduated. That's true for some people, hence why some opt to have a simple wedding, whilst others like to splash out for the most special day in their life. It's all down to personal choice. For my kiddo nephew, he's not desperate for a grand ceremony, but since all that happens is you walk in, bow to a person and come back out again, he felt it was quite pointless. He also wanted to share this special moment with his parents and make them proud. I mean what parent wouldn't be proud to witness their kid graduate from university?
I certainly was an extremely proud aunty when I went to pick him up from Cambridge. He looks so handsome in his graduation gown and fur lined hood - apparently unique to only a few universities in UK. Although kiddo graduated in absence, he wanted to take some photos of him in his full academical dress in Cambridge before he left. That's probably the next best thing to a proper graduation ceremony which I hope can happen soon.
Next time I'll share our walk around Cambridge city and many of the beautiful colleges.