Bravo, Bryan!

(from left: Alexander, Pat, Bryan and Kyle)

My brother Bryan was in town last week for the UA Instructor Training week. This is the program that his union has that trains men and women to be instructors of their apprentices. They come to Ann Arbor for a week every August (it takes 5 years to receive their certificates) . All the stores in downtown Ann Arbor and surrounding communities have signs in their windows that say "Welcome UA Members".

Bryan is already certified in the program and is also one of the teachers for the program in Ann Arbor. This year he surprised my sister-n-law and 2 nephews, when he received his Associates degree in Applied Science in Industrial Instruction (correct me if I'm wrong, Bryan). So Thursday afternoon, I picked up my sister-n-law Pat and my nephews Alexander and Kyle from the train station in Ann Arbor and we headed over to EMU's Convocation Center.

It ended up being a long ceremony. The candidates walked in to a band playing Pomp and Circumstance. The candidates receiving Associates or BAs were wearing cap and gowns. (Bryan also wore gold ropes for honors.) There were a few long-winded speeches (one that sounded like a campaign speech) and then 269 people received their instruction certificates. And then after that were the people who received Associate degrees. (I thought it should go in order of "ranking", but apparently I had no say in the matter).

It wouldn't have been that bad, but the man announcing the names took his sweet time in-between to call the next name. He would wait until the person walked up a ramp, received the diploma, turned around to face the camera and then for the camera person to snap the picture. Ugh. Pat and I were sighing the whole time, thinking it was going to be a long time. And it was. Over three hours! But then again, I can't recall any graduation ceremony where I didn't want it to end. I think part of the process is to have the participants and their families waiting for a brutally long time to get to the end. As if getting through the school part wasn't enough, they want you to wait even longer. To build character, or something like that.

When Bryan received his degree, Pat, the boys and I cheered loudly. As did a lot of other people who somehow knew Bryan. A lot of people had air horns that they would sound when their friend or family member was announced. Each time one went off, I would jump, as did my heart as it would skip a beat. If it was any contest, Bryan received a lot of air horn "cheers". After he received his degree, Pat, the boys and I went outside. Enough is enough! There were still other people to receive awards and certificates, but we needed to get out.

Bryan came out smiling widely. We all gave him hugs and words of congratulations. We took pictures with him and then headed to the car. We celebrated that night with a yummy dinner (more on that in another post). All in all, a good afternoon of well-deserved accolades. Congratulations, Bryan!

Pat and Bryan

Bryan and me

Bryan and Alexander

Kyle and Bryan