graudation

May 9th, 2009

It's official!!!  Brian is a graduate with a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Psychology from Vanguard University!!  This day has been a dream and a goal for Brian since he started the School of Professional Studies program 2 years ago at Vanguard!  For two years, every Wednesday night from 6-10 p.m. Brian would be in a 5-week long psychology class varying in different topics of psychology!  I remember when he was writing papers every week for his childhood psychology class, and then immediately into the adolescent psychology class, and immediately 5 weeks later into the adult psychology class!  He had to not only analyze himself, but almost everyone he knew!!  Haha!!  It was definitely a growing time for him as not only a student, but as a man, husband, son, and eventually as a father as he was assigned to analyze his own childhood, teenage years, and adult stages all with a Christian perspective and learn from and share with people the growth he achieved!  During many of the semesters, Brian had Wednesday and Thursday night classes, every now and then a Saturday morning class!  He had to volunteer to work with elementary school students and tutor them in classroom settings for a certain class, I remember having to go with him to Little Saigon while he had to take pictures and eat at an authentic Asian restaurant to discover in a short period of time what discrimination might feel like!  It was a very interesting experience, let me tell you!!  Brian achieved this all while working full-time, coaching 3 different sports, and "livin' the dream" Haha!!  He graduated with honors, as a member of the Psi Chi National Honors Society, and Magna Cum Laude...his grade point average was a 3.7!!!  I know I can speak for his family and for myself as I say that we are so very proud of him!!  

Okay.  This cake was absolutely the biggest, most gigantic cake I have seen at a function or party that hasn't been a wedding!!  It was so amazingly huge that my mouth fell open when I went to pick it up from the bakery!!  The girl who was assisting me asked if everything was all right, because I just stood there thinking, "Everyone at the party is going to need to eat 3 pieces in order to finish this!!"  Haha!!   Using what very little arm strength I had, I carried the 50 pound cake out to my car where I prayed the whole way home it would stay balanced against the dashboard and the seat!!  It was too big to fit on the front seat!!!!!  Haha!!  Then when we went to serve the cake to the guests, of course everyone is on a diet or too full to have a piece!  I was giving people the you-are-going-to-eat-this-cake-and-you-are-going-to-like-it-and-then-come-back-for-seconds look, and it seemed to work out!!!  Haha!!   It was an awesome, delicious cake, though, decorated perfectly and with enough left over to make another cake for the next graduation!!  

It was an awesome ceremony and the speakers were excellent!!

Awesome picture!!

Brian with his Novakoff siblings!!!  I know Brian was so glad to have them there!!

 

Grandma, grandma, grandma!!!  One of Brian's biggest fans!!

The Novakoff Clan!!!  Aunt Annette was even able to make it all the way from Washington!!

Family and Friends hanging out with the life of the party, Baby Grace DeCicco!!

She is so, so, so cute!!!

This picture cracked me up!!  I'm sure everyone heard what Grandma was trying to whisper to my Grammie!!  Haha!!

I am so very, very proud of Brian and all that he has accomplished!!!  He has worked extremely hard and sacrificed so much for this life-long achievement, but he gives all the glory and honor to his Heavenly Father who has been there every step of the way!!!