We Returned To Tower Hall

Working on a college degrees while working a full-time job is really challenging.

But two of my sons - Timothy and Daniel - supported each other in the process by taking classes together and adjusting schedules to work on homework together as much as possible.

They earned their bachelor's degrees together from the University of St. Francis on May 4 and are currently working on their master's degrees, which they started before graduation day.

I actually attended USF when it was CSF (College of St. Francis) in the school's former three-year program, which I didn't finish in favor of getting married and starting a family.

I lived on campus: Marion Hall the first year and Tower Hall the second. Most of my classes both years were at Tower Hall, so I spent many, many, many hours in that building.

By contract, Timothy and Daniel hardly stepped foot on campus since all their classes are remote.

They also didn't want any graduation photos and had their caps and gowns removed by the time they caught up to us outside after the graduation ceremony.

But on May 6, they changed their minds. They didn't care about the photos. But they thought maybe I cared about the photos, that I would want photos of them in their caps and gowns.

And they were right.

So after work on that May 8, we returned to USF for photos. The boys, who wore their gowns over their T-shirts and jeans, asked me to choose the location. That was easy: Tower Hall.

Now, it's not like I've never been to USF since 1981. Of course I have, mostly for Herald-News assignments. And "Bryony" was also recorded as an audio book at USF in 2012 before audio books became a thing. It's still not released, which is another story and post altogether.

So after the post-graduation photos, we walked around campus. I pointed out what was the same, what had changed, and shared amusing anecdotes from my time there. The boys enjoyed looking around and seeing parts of the campus.

It was a nice full circle moment.

I left USF to start my real mission in life, which included bringing them into the world.

They came to USF to launch their mission, which is still being written.

And I couldn't be more proud.