Eric ASU Graduation

On May 14th Eric hit a major milestone in his life: he graduated from Arizona State University with his Bachelor of Arts in Communication!  Eric is a college graduate!!!!  Wahoo!!  And it only took him 4.5 years, which is really commendable!  With my mission thrown in it took me 7 years, but actual time in school was 5 years, so he beat me! 

This year ASU decided to honor all graduating ROTC cadets during the huge ASU commencement celebration.  So the school had all cadets sit in the first couple of rows on the field of the football stadium rather than just in the crowd with all the other graduating students.  It was actually really cool because they got to march on and have everyone recognize them for being military.

The actual ceremony itself was ... well... I won't lie... really boring.  Then again, so was my big commencement at BYU so I suppose that we are now even having each attended the one for the other.  But it was still a very proud moment in my book to watch Eric as he was able to stand and be recognized on a number of different occasions (graduating Cum Laude with a GPA of 3.55; having had a job during his college career; being a military graduate; participated in hundreds of hours of community service; etc).  It was fun to cheer for him and think to myself: "Oh yeah, that's right, that is my husband down there.... BOOYAH!!... YOU DA MAN!!!" 

So, congratulations to Eric for his many hard years of work... all those all nighters of studying or writing papers have officially paid off.  You now have a piece of paper like the rest of us that says you are smart. 

Before the ceremony

All the ROTC Cadets beginning to gather on the field

The cadets in relation to the rest of the graduating people on the field

All branches of the ROTC : Air Force, Navy, Army and Marines

 

Here he is, receiving the official word from ASU president that they are graduates

https://vimeo.com/99768420

And here is immediately after the party getting started!

https://vimeo.com/99768421

After the ceremony we took a couple of family shots before going to celebrate with Ice Cream Sundaes at Sonic... a well deserved treat, especially for us spectators having to sit in 100 degree supporting our graduate.  But it was totally worth it! 

Congratulations Eric!  You did it!  All done with school... at least for now hehehehe...

Eric's end to ROTC

It is hard to believe but after 4 years of classes, service activities, leadership training, early morning physical training, rigorous events and overall time consumption, Eric's experience at ASU's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Core program is officially complete. 

In the moment it seemed that the end would never come, he would forever be stuck as a Cadet.  But now, we look back and realize just how fast time flew.  Funny how time has a way of doing that, flying by.  And it will only continue to accelerate and fly by even faster (especially once Eric is in pilot training ... hehehe... fly by... hehehehe... get it? ...... yeah..... ).

As a group, the seniors of the detachment seemed to really bond and there was great camaraderie amongst them all.  Here are some shots of the seniors of 2014:

Dining Out; Old Main on ASU Campus - April 2014

Spring Commencement; ASU Stadium - May 2014

Commissioning; Old Main Ballroom - May 2014

Being a senior there are some ritual activities that Eric got to participate in.  One of them was jumping into Tempe Town Lake after the very last Physical Training class of the year.  Kind of gross to think about considering all the nasty stuff floating in that particular water, ... best not to think into too much detail.  It didn't stop any of them as you can see.  Great memories for sure!

Another tradition they have is that those who are the Wing and Vice Wing Commander of the detachment get pushed into the fountain at Old Main (on ASU campus) after the change of command ceremony at the end of each semester. Since Eric was Vice Wing Commander, he got to take part in this event.  I bet he was glad that they got pushed in after the Spring semester when it was 80+ degrees outside instead of after the Fall semester when it was only about 30 degrees... brrr..



 



Cadet Sullivan (Wing Commander) and Cadet Roach (Vice Wing Commander) - Spring Semester 2014




























Not many people (myself included) got to see Eric in his "Cadet Roach" mode.  Luckily I was able to acquire quite a few pictures that showed him in the zone doing his thing over the course of the last 4 years.  Get ready for picture overload.  But I am glad to show off on behalf of Eric with these pictures.  Hope you enjoy.  P.S. Good luck spotting him in all the group shots, he is the one wearing a blue Air Force Uniform or Air Force physical training outfit..... hehehehe

Group shots with the entire wing of cadets from Detachment 025:

Performing PT (Physical Training):

At Attention:

Marching:

In Leadership Training Activities:

Doing Service:

In class:

 

Teaching:

Making his Air Force commitment when he contracted after Field Training - August 2012:

And just having a good time:

 

 

ROTC... you have provided many early mornings, learning lessons, character building experiences, and overall great memories.  But alas, it is time that we bid thee adieu.  Allora... ciao!