Commencement

The commencement was Saturday morning at the Maverick Center. The whole family met up in suite 113B, big thanks to my father-in-law and his connections. We were able to celebrate in style up in the suite. We had it catered so everyone was able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the moment!

 As soon as the music started and the graduates started walking out I couldn't help but start crying! It was such an emotional day. I couldn't have been more proud of Neal at that moment. The sea of graduates swarmed out and soon enough the entire floor was covered with students dressed in their black regalia. It took me a while but thanks to technology, I was able to spot Neal as he waved his phone back and forth. We had the most perfect view and we were ready for the ceremony to begin.

My all time absolute favorite part about University of Phoenix and their graduation ceremony is when they ask who in the audience are parents. Almost all the students were able to proudly stand, it was such an amazing sight! College is hard enough but college with kids is even harder! What a true accomplishment to finally graduate and have your children there to support you. It was so special to see Neal stand at that moment and wave to us, his wife and son, as tears filled my eyes.

 The time for him to cross the stage finally came and we all waited in anticipation to scream and shout! We had the banner up, hands ready to start clapping, and the next thing we hear is......"NEAL BUCK".

 We were all so confused. Is there another Neal? Did they just mispronounce his name? How can you get Burk wrong? Soon enough we realized it really WAS Neal they were announcing and we screamed our heads off! We wanted to be sure he knew we were there showing our love and support! It was so neat to watch him walk across the stage, get handed his degree, and give us another wave while front and center.

 After Neal's name was called it just seemed to drag! We couldn't wait to meet the new graduate after the ceremony. After it ended Neal finally made his way up to the suite and we were able to do some fun pictures and enjoy the rest of the food. Neal was shining!!!! It was amazing to see the difference from before and after. I just can't get over how big this was for him, for anyone really, but I know just how much it meant for Neal to be able to meet this big milestone in life.

It was a beautiful day and I'm so glad we had our family there to support Neal on his special accomplishment! He is just simply amazing and I'm so proud of him.