Commencement is really just the beginning

My brother graduated from University of Illinois today.  To say I'm a proud older sister would be an understatement :)  Can I brag about him for a minute?  Thanks.  He's graduating from U of I's engineering program in 3 years with a 3.96 = top 3% of graduating class (which is like 8,000 people) and has received an award for best student in his engineering class several semesters in a row (which, I might add comes with some nice reward $$... why don't they have these for music students?)

The best part though is that he is humble and Godly.  He does not walk around bragging that his major is something most people can't even pronounce or remember (Engineering - Theoretical and Applied Mechanics with a specialty in Computational Fluid Dynamics... I just learned to say all that today.  It's only taken me 3 years!)  He is easy going and friends with anyone.  He is not arrogant and does not talk to people in a condescending way (come on, we've all talked to smart people who talk to us regular people like we're stupid or lesser).  Most importantly, he loves Jesus and lives it out!  I could not be prouder that this kid is my brother and friend.

I recently heard that "commencement" really isn't the end, but the beginning.  That's why they call the ceremony "commencement."  It makes so much sense, when you think of it.  Finishing undergrad is when you finally learn how to start learning!  It gives you the awareness and thinking skills to learn for life.  Brian will be "commencing" at Stanford to continue in his engineering studies and we couldn't be more excited for him.  And, while we'll miss him in the midwest, Palo Alto, California isn't a bad vacation destination!

Congrats to my brother!!! :)