First of all, graduation is over, which means we have many Auggies off to the "real world"! Congratulations to everyone.
Okay, now I would like to go over my last week in order to demonstrate why it was such a great week/end.
Last weekend (April 23-25) was exceptional. I was at the DFL State Convention in Duluth, which was new to me. I learned a ton about how conventions work and how things are done. I also saw and heard all kinds of things about what was going on before Margaret Anderson-Kelliher was endorsed by the DFL after all other candidates dropped or conceded defeat. It was a total emotional process, but totally worth it.
Then on Sunday after coming back from that long weekend in Duluth, I was at the Honors Banquet. Bob Groven, Director of the program, had asked me if I was there and I had said yes. I knew I had to leave at some point before the banquet ended. I did enjoy a really good vegetarian meal with awesome friends and new people. Then I left for a presentation that I was going to help about immigration and students with an awesome lawyer.
When the lawyer and I were getting ready for the presentation at this church in the suburbs, I got a text saying: 'Juve you won the Hesser House Award...!' I was like...'I just left....' Anyhow, we had to go on with the presentation and in the middle of the presentation, we figured there was this person who disagreed much with me. I didn't have to answer much because the comments were not directed to me, but it was an uneasy moment for sure (in an unsafe way). The lawyer was great at keeping the cool and not letting emotions dominate the conversations. It was kind of scary really. But I think, as I continue to promote and talk about students, college access, and immigration, I will have these kind of encounters. And I need to know what to do.
Then finals week came. Since I could not do much over that weekend, I was planning in finishing this final project for a class all morning until class that Monday. Then everything went wrong. The next day things were not that great, but was able to at least finish the project I had to have done the day before. On Tuesday I received my award from Sunday, which was really cool: a beautiful glass with the inscription of the award name (the Garry Hesser House Award for Leadership in Service to the Community) and my name. I also saw the movie, 'Caw,' which I really liked and my friend really enjoyed it as well, so that was good. On Wednesday we had our last Privacy Taskforce meeting and we had our first senate meeting of our administration, which was really exciting!
Thursday I spent all day reading and watching videos of Martin Luther King Jr., which gave me the chills of course. Friday it was hang out day since most people were all done with classes and I really enjoyed it.
This last Saturday it was commencement and I really enjoyed it. Despite the meaningless speech Gov. Pawlenty gave, I thought everything else was done phenomenally. Everything went smoothly. Father Fernando was very inspirational. It was also great seeing people I knew walk and then be announced as official graduates of Augsburg.
After commencement I headed to an immigration rally in downtown Mpls. Thousands of people there and it was a great time. I did get really tired, which caused me to crash and sleep like 10 hrs for the first time in months!
Today I went to the May Day Parade/Festival for the first time, which was excellent. Then I had a great time biking around the lake and just laying there for a bit. It did get a bit cold, but it was still a beautiful time. Finally, I went to see friends who had graduated at their grad-party and that was good too.
Overall, it was a wonderful week really. I am looking forward to whatever is next.
