Surprise Backyard Graduation Ceremony for University of Akron Graduate

When Nathan graduated high school & left for the University of Akron, I remember talking to my sister Amy & looking forward into the future – her & Nathan’s future. He was headed to school for 5 years – with a Corrosion Engineering degree the prize at the end of it all.

Amy & Nathan had known each other for 3 years when Nathan left for college in Ohio – which meant that when graduation day came, they would be up to 8 years together. At the time, those 5 long years stretched out ahead of them & seemed like an eternity. Isn’t time funny that way? When we’re looking ahead – it seemed like such a long time, but now that those 5 years are in the rearview mirror – it seemed to go by pretty quick!

So, for 5 years, Nathan worked hard to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Corrosion Engineering and then, unexpectedly, right at the end of his journey, the world was turned upside down. The school shifted to online classes for the last few weeks & graduation was canceled.

Graduation, from high school & college, is such a monumental moment in a person’s life. It’s a moment that is looked forward to (& maybe even used as a focal point to make it thru) for years – and when it’s suddenly (& violently) taken away, it can definitely leave you feeling like you never completed that season of your life. With that in mind, Amy decided to take matters into her own hands.

Secretly, she planned a surprise backyard graduation ceremony for Nathan. Since Nathan’s graduation attire was being mailed to him from Akron on an unknown timetable, she borrowed Nathan’s brother’s cap & gown, borrowed cords from Derrick’s cap & gown, and even stole the tassel right off of my Disney graduation ears (it wasn’t quite so violent, I told her she could borrow it). She specifically & strategically planned out a ceremony, complete with programs, music, and special speakers. She contacted all of Nathan’s friends & family, and asked them to send him their well-wishes via video, which she compiled together into a video presentation. She worked with Nathan’s parents to keep the entire thing a complete secret from him – finally pulling the last strings of inviting him & his family to “dinner”.

She pulled the entire thing off without a hitch & it was perfect.

Derrick filmed the entire backyard graduation ceremony & put together a highlight video – it turned out amazing – definitely his best project to date!

And with that – the “college” chapter of Amy & Nathan’s story has closed. It was long and filled with lots of late nights, Face-timing & phone calls, & weekends driving back & forth to Ohio.
Now, they can embark on the next chapter of their lives – the one where they get married!! T-minus 4 days until the big day!!