Graduation Day

This morning was my graduation day from Sullivan University. I graduated summa cum laude, was the recipient of the President's cup (which is this big trophy they hand you on stage for being an uber-nerd with really high grades), and I was the second! person out of about 600 to cross the stage. This was terrifying in that I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, having not watched anybody else. But it all worked out in the end, and I'm glad I got to go before the whole audience got restless.
Our commencement speaker was John Yarmuth, who is are local congressman. Personally, I found this somewhat funny, since the chancellor of Sullivan was a vocal supporter of his opponent in that last election, but I guess that's what makes you an effective politician. His speech was about good times versus bad times, and focused heavily on current economic news and public sentiment. The theme of his speech was how the personal responsibility and hard work of graduates like us is the key to more "good times" (which I was not really expecting, since our congressman is a Democrat. I really thought he was going to say Barack Obama would forgive all our college loans if we vote for him in the fall). It was a good speech.

So what am I going to do now that I've graduated, you might ask? Good question. In the immediate future, not terribly much, since I'm also still working towards my other degree. But I will share with you some of the things I got out of this experience:

• The opportunity to teach. First and foremost, this was the best thing they did for me (and since it was an invitation to the position, not something I applied for, I owe them that much more). Did you ever walk into your dream home, or meet the person you were destined to marry and have that gut feeling of everything being right in your world? Well, that's me teaching at the college level. That's where I fit, that's what I'm supposed to do. Thanks for the focus and the clarity.
• A ridiculously broad knowledge of food and cooking. Want to know what balsamic vinegar's made out of? How about the difference between Thai and Indian curries? Need to know what temperature to bake that at? I do, and could probably eke out a dissertation if my life depended on it.
• The chance to learn from some great teachers. Some of the notables: Chef Dodd, whom I feared, yet learned the most from. Chef Payne, the one I respected the most. Chef Engle, still my favorite because he was the nicest.

That being said, I don't think I'm going to stop at a Master's in Nutrition. I think I'm getting on the PhD train. This would give me the most leverage in teaching at the college level and all of you would have to call me Doctor Baker (after all, I didn't go to eight years of food/cooking/nutrition school just to have you call me Mrs. Baker. Kind of makes me wish I had married someone with the last name Food, so I could be "Doctor Food".). So with any luck, Sullivan I'll see you again, but from the other side of the classroom.

P.S. Thanks Rory for all your love and support, for coming with me today, and always encouraging me to go for my dreams. I never would have been here without you. You'll always be the best part of the journey and the destination.