Spring 2010 Graduation on Lower Field - not a cloud in the sky.

Engineering Students prepare to walk across the stage during the Spring 2010 Graduation Ceremony

Several of my friends from different clubs and organizations on campus graduated within the last year and I stayed on campus for three ceremonies.

All students graduate from the university in the same ceremony, including master’s students, and students who come to the Prescott Campus to celebrate their graduation from the World-Wide campus.  This is something that I really like about the Embry-Riddle graduation, because I’ve heard from friends at different universities who went to separate graduation ceremonies by college, and didn’t get to see their friends in other degree programs walk.

The graduates are called up by college.  The only difference in the undergraduate’s graduation garb, other than the different awards that graduates wear, is the color of the tassel.  The robes are all black, and the engineering tassel is orange.

I went to a high school with 2,500 students, and my graduation ceremony was huge.  I’ve met students on campus who graduated with over 2,000 students just in their class.  The Embry-Riddle graduating class is rather small because students can graduate in either the spring or the fall and the number of students at the school is relatively small.  In my opinion, this results in a much more enjoyable graduation experience for the audience member.

The two semester ceremonies are fairly different. So far Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus has not limited the number of guests you can bring to graduation.   Since the number of people who graduate in the Fall is significantly smaller than the number who graduate in the Spring, that Fall graduation ceremony is held in the Activity Center on campus.  The Spring semester is held on the sports fields. 

Both graduation ceremony locations have advantages.  During the fall commencement ceremony, your view from the top of the bleachers is looking down at the graduates, which is great for taking pictures from wherever you are sitting. It is also indoors, so you don’t have to worry about the weather, bugs, wind, or wearing sun block.

On the other hand the outdoor graduation is beautiful.  There are very few days during the year that Prescott isn’t sunny.  One of the other advantages of an outdoor graduation is the opportunity for former Embry-Riddle students to perform flyovers. There are plenty of places for your family to congregate afterwards for pictures, and there are several places where you can move up to take pictures of people as they walk across the stage.

It was bittersweet to see some of my friends graduate.  On the one hand I was excited for them to start their new jobs in new places with good paychecks and huge opportunities before them.  On the other hand, it was kind of an end of an era of hanging out with those friends.  Going to graduation gave me a good idea of what to expect for my own graduation, and I truly can’t wait. Another good group of friends will be graduating with me and I expect that my own graduation will be really fun. May 7, 2011, here I come!

Professor Helbling places the ring of the Order of the Engineer on Joshua Martinez's, a Spring 2010 Aerospace Engineering graduate, pinky finger while Dr. Madler, Dean of the College of Engineering watches during the Spring 2010 Order of the Engineer Ceremony at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott Campus.

Engineering students have the opportunity to take the Oath of the Order of the Engineer just before graduation.  The Order of the Engineer is essentially a group that values ethical engineering practices by vowing to always do what’s right even if it means that you might lose your job.  I just signed up to participate in this year’s ceremony.

There are several instances of major engineering failures over the past few decades that could have been prevented if engineers had voiced their concerns rather than allowed themselves to be pressured by deadlines and company profits.   During your EGR 101 class’s engineering ethics unit, you will learn much more detail about these events through case studies.

I like to see the Order of the Engineer as a group of people who have taken an oath to use their powers for good rather than evil. After I learned about the group, I began to notice that several of my professors wore the ring of the Order.

Every semester before graduation, an Order of the Engineer ceremony is held for all graduating students interested in joining the order.  I went last spring to support one of my close friends.  

The ceremony takes place in the executive conference room on the top floor of the Academic Building. The room has large windows lining each of the walls with breathtaking views of Granite Mountain, Willow Lake, and the Granite Dells.

During the ceremony the history of the Order of the Engineer is shared with the graduates and their families and friends before the graduates say their oaths. The tradition originally started in Canada and has since expanded into the United States. In the U.S. those who choose to take the oath of the Order of the Engineer receive stainless steel rings that they wear on the pinky finger of their dominant hand.  The purpose for this tradition is that every time an engineer goes to sign a document, they will hear the clink of their ring on the table, which will remind them of their ethical responsibility and the oath that they took.

The entire group of new inductees says the oath together, and then each person walks up to the front of the room individually, places their hand through a large ring, has their ring placed on their pinky finger by one of our professors. Finally, the new member signs their Order of the Engineer certificate, hearing the clink of their ring for the first time.

The students I knew taking the oath last spring took their responsibility very seriously and were very proud to walk out of the ceremony with their rings, tapping it on every surface they can for the next few days.

The ceremony was beautiful and the tradition is one that I am excited to become a part of when I graduate this spring.

What is senior year for an engineer like?  Well, it is a combination of things.

First, seniors are faced with their capstone design courses.  This course is specific to the senior’s degree and challenges them to use all of the skills they have learned throughout their four years of college, and then some.  Many times the topics covered in the senior design courses haven’t been covered in previous courses and require a great deal of research.  The capstone design courses are designed to simulate a project that you would face in industry, giving a student a taste of each of the phases of a design from research through completing team-determined integration and test plans.

Second, seniors prepare for their graduation.  For some students, graduating from their undergraduate degree program only means moving on to start the next phase of their education in graduate school.  For other students, graduating means entering industry, putting everything that they have learned to the test, and, best of all, getting that paycheck that they’ve spent the last four years working towards.  Whichever course students take, senior year means filling out lots of applications, collecting references, fine tuning resumes, and waiting. Waiting is the hardest part.  Waiting to hear if you’ve gotten your dream job. Waiting to hear if you’ve been accepted to the graduate school of your choice.

Third, senior year means keeping very busy between classes, extracurriculars, and the occasional trip to attend a conference, career fair, or on-site interview. I bought a suit the summer before my senior year and I’ve had six occasions to wear to it so far this academic year.

As far as finishing senior year, there are mixed reactions.  Embry-Riddle isn’t one of those schools where you will spend more time partying than studying.  Students who attend Embry-Riddle are very focused on their futures and work very hard for their diplomas.  That doesn’t mean you don’t have time to make friends, though – strong friendships are built throughout the four years.  It’s not hard to make friends in an environment where everyone is very focused and shares common interests in aviation and aerospace.

Graduation is both exciting and a little sad.  On the one hand, you are continuing to pursue your dreams, you look forward to having a paycheck and free time. On the other hand, your friends are moving all over the world to continue pursuing their dreams, and although you may never lose touch with them, your lives will diverge after graduation. For me, the most overwhelming emotion is excitement about moving on to the next stage and making a difference in the world through my work.