Convocation Exordium - God Save the Queen!

So I have to admit, although I knew what a convocation was, I had to look up the word, Exordium. For those of you who are as verbally challenged as I am, exordium means a beginning or introduction. So at the convocation exordium, the faculty and staff at Harlaxton College gathered with their families and the students and were introduced as we begin our new semester. I thought the ceremony would be quite stuffy but in fact, I was pleasantly surprised. Although there were serious moments, there was also a lot of laughter and fun. It was quite lovely.

We marched in behind Mr. Billy James, a professional bagpiper - in fact, at the last bagpiping world competition, our bagpiper, who is also Harlaxton's exterminator, came in 9th place. Fifteen years ago, he was in 3rd place, but as he told us, the younger lads from Ireland are getting quite good and they passed him at the latest competition. I would have loved to have had my camera at this event, but it just didn't seem proper for a faculty member to be snapping photos during the ceremony. The good news is that Mr. James will be back this evening at the high table dinner, so I promise to get some pictures then - I have to admit that Mr. James sounded much better than Jacob when playing the bagpipes. Mr. James even looks more like a bagpiper - it might be the kilt :) The music was loud but phenomenal.

We sang the Star Spangled Banner and then God Save the Queen. I found out a fascinating fact today. If England ends up with a king instead of a queen, they change the name and the words of their national anthem - it becomes God Save the King. This is the only country I know of that changes the words and name of their national anthem based on the gender of the ruler...pretty cool

We also sang a great folk song written by David Mallett in 1975 called "The Garden Song". Here is a link to John Denver singing the song with the Muppets - we didn't have the singing plants, but the faculty looked like the judges at the end :) John Denver and the Muppets sing The Garden Song

The song is quite fitting - when I think about it, this is what the mission of a nursing professor is - we plant lots of seeds hopefully in the fertile (pronounced fer-tile - like a tile floor - in the UK) ground of our students' minds. With a combination of the gifts given to faculty and students by God - we do all grow - it takes a lot of work, but we end up growing in the end. And then our students graduate and become nurses who are able to make a difference in the lives of their patients - and the cycle begins again. They teach other nursing students and their patients to care for themselves and others. It really is quite a phenomenal experience when you think about it. I am looking forward to the growth - both personally and professionally - that my students and I will experience this semester. What an awesome gift we have been given...here's to making every moment count!