Life is like one big Mardi Gras

I enjoy the gems of wisdom from celebrity commencement speakers each graduation season, particularly when they are authentic and from the heart.

This year's entry from Ellen Degeneres made me smile.

Life is like one big Mardi Gras. But instead of showing your boobs, show people your brain. And if they like what they see, you'll have more beads than you know what to do with.

You can watch it here.

...To boldly go where no man has gone before

Okay, so I exaggerate, men and women have gone here before.

Today, I embarked on the adventure of a PhD in Higher Education. Nudged along by my very wise mentor and adviser, Dr. Dan, I began the first class in my program and had an energetic day with an exciting group of professionals in education. Pretty soon I will be able to use univariate, bivariate, and multivariate categorical data in a sentence. And it will be wonderful.

I also got a discount today on my iced mocha at Caribou for being able to name all the original members of the Star Trek cast. If you haven't seen it yet, make your aerospace engineering students proud and get yourself to a showing of the new Star Trek.

Pomp and Circumstance

It is graduation weekend on our campus. Students are moving out of residences halls, parking lots are jammed, and families are arriving to join in the festivities.

My graduate assistant, Kari, will commence tonight and embark on her career in Student Affairs. She has made dynamic contributions to our program over the last year and we are excited about her new adventure.

The Hixson Scholars will welcome 42 new graduates tomorrow, bringing the total number graduated to 818 since the first graduating class in 1999. Their successes are many and will continue to warm my heart.

It's a great time to read some Graduation Wisdom. Here's one of my favorites.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ~~Steve Jobs

Congratulations all!

Campus Freeze: A Facebook Social Experiment

The week before finals on our campus is known as Dead Week, traditionally a time when no activities are scheduled and student stress crescendos to peak level in the days before exams. This week, however, an enterprising sophomore staged a social experiment to engage student brains in something other than the academic craziness of the end of the semester.

FREEZE ON CENTRAL CAMPUS!!! was organized in the spirit of events that Improv Everywhere have created around New York City. Several campuses around the country have planned similar events recently, including NC State. The Iowa State performance began as the Facebook Event post along with a supplemental group page to provide more specific instructions. It occurred for five minutes as our Campanile struck 12:00 noon on Thursday and the daily carillon concert commenced providing background music for the event.

The videos posted on Facebook include the carillon music. This edited version can be found on YouTube.

A new campus tradition?