Four years of preparation, well actually five years of preparation went into this day. April 22nd I stood in blue cap and robe ready to graduate with my bachelors degree. My parents and Tiffany's parents came into town to celebrate this day with us. I graduated with a music degree in Saxophone Performance and a minor in Computer Science. I have learned a lot about music over the past several years and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I was lucky to be under the instruction of Ray Smith and many other faculty to help me develop my talents and abilities. I have also enjoyed the opportunities of performing in a wide variety of ensembles. It was a lot of fun and I have learned much about hard work, putting in the time needed to accomplish your goals, and dreaming big.

Now the fun continues in a new direction. I begin the Masters Program in Computer Science. I'm excited to be working with Dr. Ventura and doing music related research. Music is something I always want to have in my life. I plan to always be doing something with it.

I'm glad to have had the support of Tiffany this last year. Being married and always having someone there to support you is a wonderful thing. She has been a great voice of reason and encouragement this last year and I know that I married a wonderful person. I am lucky to have her as my wife.

A thing that made this interesting is that I was asked to perform a solo piece for the College of Fine Arts Convocation. It was the first time a person from the sax studio had been asked to do so and I worked hard to represent us well. You can check out a recording of my performance here (YouTube). I was a bit nervous having to play it memorized but it turned out really well and a lot of fun.

One funny aside to this whole thing is the conditions of my last test and the weather on graduation day. I took my last test on wednesday of finals week and as I walked out of the testing center, elated with the realization that I just finished my last final, it was raining. This wasn't just any rain however, it felt like, smelled like, and seemed like, Oregon rain. You think rain would dampen my spirits on that day but it only fueled them. The next day as well, when I got up in the morning, would you know that there was snow on the ground? I will take all the blame for that happening. The weather knew I was graduating and decided to make it all the more memorable.