It's Springtime in Carson City

Yes, it's time for spring here in Carson CIty. The tree in front of our motorhome door is leafing out.

Daughter Kathie is springing out of college. She is "Senior Scholar" in the School of Journalism at the University of Nevada at Reno. When she was told she was Senior Scholar, she first wondered if it was because she was old (at age 46). She was told it was because of her GPA (3.952, the highest in the College of Journalism).

Grandson Sam has been sprung: he has his Driver License now! That's neat!

Son-in-law Shawn is sprung also. While Kathie was in school the last few years, Shawn has been in charge of the house: cooking, getting Sam to and from all his sports and other activities, whatever.

So it's spring in Carson City, although we had a fair amount of snow today.

The big event, of course, was Kathie's graduation. We arrived in town Wednesday evening, had dinner at a casino with all the local family: Kat and Shawn, grandson Sam, granddaughter Renee and her husband Adam, and their pride and joy, our great grandson Darren (18 months old that very day!). We showed you those pictures last time.

Thursday, Daughter Deb arrived with her "Manpanion" Albert. They are fresh back from a trip to Colombia, and we are looking forward to seeing several hundred pictures of their trip!

Thursday evening was Kathie's Senior Scholar presentation at the University in Reno. Each of the University's eight colleges (Business, Liberal Arts, Science, Journalism, etc.) presented one Senior Scholar. Eight Senior Scholars out of a graduating class of 2,012, and our Kathie was one of those eight. The Senior Scholars were labeled "The Best of the Best." How do you suppose that made Mom and Dad feel?

As part of the Senior Scholar process, each Senior Scholar was asked to select the faculty Mentor who played the most significant role in his or her scholastic achievement. Kathie selected Professor Bob Felten. In the presentation that evening, each Senior Scholar and his/her selected Mentor received matching plaques.

Here's what Kathie wrote about Bob Felten: "Bob has been my toughest critic and my staunchest advocate, offering his not-always-welcome critiques of my work and inspiring me to push myself to produce something better... He continued to believe in me even when my own confidence was lagging and never failed to take advantage of a teachable moment."

Each Senior Scholar and each Mentor was called on to speak at the presentation, and most spoke of their own opposite. In every case except one, the mentor spoke first about the student, and the student responded. Professor Felton, ever the teacher, pushed Kathie to the podium first. That's the final lesson he could give her in journalism and communication: stand up and say your piece! And she did! Yes, it's the proud Papa saying this, but it's true anyway: Kathie's talk was the finest of the 16 that evening, as it had to be for the Senior Scholar with a major in Journalism and Communication!



Our daughter makes her pitch.

It was very difficult to judge who was most proud of Kathie that evening:



Husband Shawn, of course, has first dibs on being proud.



Maybe sister Deb, herself a graduate just a few years ago?



Mom was certainly proud!



Maybe it was the guy behind the camera much of the time.

But the one who was the proudest of all, of course, was the graduate herself. I fixed up this picture to imagine Kathie in her mortarboard!



Ladies and gentlemen, I present Senior Scholar Katherine LeRoy Taylor!

And with that proud note, we close this episode in ... Our Life on Wheels!