Pam Barr, high school math teacher, as written in my senior yearbook
The completion of this paper also signals the completion of my Master’s degree from the University of Vermont. While I look forward to the relief of not being required to study or read (or feel guilty for not), I will continue to learn throughout my lifetime and I may choose to pursue further post-grad programs. As I reflect back on my education, I realize now that I was a non-traditional undergraduate student before that became the norm for many students; I took two years off after high school against the advice of my advisor and paid my own way through the most expensive out of state school in the nation. It was only recently that I realized I was a first generation college student and one of only two in my family circle to complete a graduate degree. The most significant educational moment though came only a few weeks ago. As Susan and I planned for the May 2010 graduation, I made mention that completing the degree was the reward I sought and the act of walking across the stage to receive my diploma held little value for me. With that statement, my wife Susan offered a look of consternation and tilted her head slightly to the side, perhaps she waggled her finger at me too, I do not fully recall. “You need to walk across that stage Daniel, so Katherine and Robert can see what you have been working towards for all these years,” she implored. It was a moment that struck home the lesson that I learned earlier upon the completion of hiking the Long Trail; though I hiked alone, I was not hiking for myself.
