Graduation Photos May 2018

The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience held its Spring 2018 graduation ceremony on Friday, May 11, 2018, in the CU Events Center.

(Note: the winners of the department's graduate and undergraduate awards are not pictured or named individually, but here is a list of the winners.)

People arriving for the ceremony; some are more bored than others
CU leaves no opportunity unused to sell merch
The usual pre-ceremony mayhem in the bowels of the events center
Prof. Linda Watkins chats with doctoral students Rachel Daut and Sam Dolzani before the ceremony
Emcee Prof. Tina Pittman Wagers warms up the crowd
(L to R) outgoing Chair Prof. Jerry Rudy, incoming chair Prof. Irene Blair, Prof. David Allen, Prof. Tiffany Ito
The emcee herds the cats, er, professors onstage
The students process to their seats, the PhD candidates already having taken the front row
With hundreds of graduates, just the procession takes awhile
During the processional, a mom takes a quick moment to give her son a lei
MC Pittman Wagers welcomes the students to graduation
Woop, woop! The graduates thank those who helped them get to this point.
Prof. Brett King gives the graduation address
Undergraduate speaker Amethyst Brandin addresses her fellow graduates
Undergraduate speaker Jordan Griffin addresses her fellow graduates
Prof. Mark Whisman, director of the departmental honors program, introduces those graduating with Latin honors - there were a lot, nearly 30
A snapshot from the announcing of the undergraduate awards
PhD hoodings part I, clockwise from upper left: Rachel Daut, hooded by Linda Watkins (mentored by Steve Maier); Sam Dolzani, hooded by Linda Watkins (mentored by Steve Maier); Casey Gardiner, hooded by mentor Angela Bryan
PhD hoodings part II, clockwise from upper left: Arielle Gillman, hooded by mentor Angela Bryan; Hollis Karoly, hooded by mentor Kent Hutchison; Lauren Landy, hooded by mentor Joanna Arch; Erin McPherson, hooded by mentor Bernadette Park
PhD hoodings part III, clockwise from top left: Kellen Mrkva, hooded by mentor Leaf Van Boven; Briana Robustelli, hooded by mentor Mark Whisman; Adam Young, hooded by mentor Alice Healy
A snapshot from the graduate student awards
Faculty awards winners, from L to R: Prof. Sona Dimidjian (research), Prof. Linda Watkins (teaching), Prof. Tiffany Ito (service)
Prof. Alice Healy is given a hand; she is retiring after nearly 40 years in the department
Our first mortarboard: "Oh, get a job? Just get a job? Why don't I just strap on my job helmet and squeeze down into a job cannon and fire off into job land, where jobs grow on jobbies!" - A reference to a scene from the sitcom "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (Note: It is not always sunny)
Incoming chair Prof. Irene Blair acknowledges with a little gift the outgoing chair, Prof. Jerry Rudy, who is retiring
More mortarboards: "Contigo Todo Sin Ti Nada" - With you all, without you nothing
"Unlocking my potential" - a degree is a great place to start
"She Believed She Could So She Did" - You go, girl!
"I'm A Grad, Put That In Your Pipe & Smoke It" has more than one meaning in the state of Colorado
Due to a cold, the chair fist-bumped the graduates as they crossed the stage rather than shaking their hands
"I Declare Bankruptcy" with an image of Steve Carell is a reference to an episode from the sitcom "The Office"
Another graduate, another fist bump
Random shot of people crossing the stage to have their names read
Prepare for mortarboard inundation: "This BA Took a Lot of Nerve" - We're sure it did
"What a long strange trip it's been" - Grateful Dead song lyric reference
"it's a beautiful day to save lives" - hard to read, but a nice sentiment
"Dopamine + Serotonin - the only two things you enjoy" - I would wager some would vote for Oxytocin
"Dream Big Sparkle On Shine Bright" - You go, girl! (v2)
"there's a lot of beauty in ordinary things isn't that kind of the point" - Not sure it is, but it's a nice expression
"hnks fr th mmrs" - Hmm, is this some sort of Cloze task? ("Thanks for the memories")
"Dad Look I'm Graduating" - That you are!
"Official Neuro Status" - not sure what that is, but we can bet she's a neuroscience major
The usual hubbub around the stage with cellphones and cameras galore
Say what?!
"Clever Girl" - with a velociraptor picture; a Jurassic Park movie reference
"Scott's Tots" - Another reference to "The Office" sitcom; these kids like that show
There appears to be some sort of dance taking place among the photographers
"They helped me so I can help them" - Pay it forward, always a good thing
This appears to be one family but evidently they all wanted their own picture
The final fist bump of graduation, May 2018!
Flip those tassels, you are graduated!
Good afternoon and good luck!