Carmen graduates from Tates Creek High School

The ceremony at Rupp Arena was very professionally done and well executed. It seemed so short, much like High School. To watch Carmen parade through one of the lines that received a diploma and a handshake from superintendent Stu Silberman looked more like a synchronized choreography than the graduations that I have witnessed in the past. Did I mention it was short?

In the past few months and years and really my whole career, I have been obsessively focused on objectives that I have set for myself and I have always considered myself very blessed to have a family that is not dependent on my daily direction or re-direction. As this graduation ceremony was executed in a few fleeting moments, I couldn't help comparing it to the four years of high school that went by so quickly.

It seems like just yesterday that Carmen started her freshman year of volleyball and then wrestled with a decision to pursue an aggressive objective of an International Baccalaureate Diploma.

The arena was also roomy. We sat with a group of 11 family members. You can see us at the top of the photograph on the right. Second row: Shirley, Vickie, Buddy, Bud, Becca, Keith. First row: Adam, Peter, Stephanie, Jackie and I.

Matt and Kim were there as well, but we didn't even know it until we saw them afterward. For the 360 or so Tates Creek Graduates and those there to witness it, there was plenty of room and plenty of comfort in an arena built to place 22,000 fans around a game of basketball.

On the right, Carmen's family looks down as her principal approaches the stage and podium. At the bottom, the NCAA Championship banners hang over her, waiting to witness the next four years of her life. I hope those banners know how much they have to look forward to with Carmen. I know that Tates Creek has prepared her well for the next set of four very short years.