From Graduand to Graduate

Recently I learned a new word: graduand. It’s the status of one who has earned a degree but not yet been awarded it. And that’s what I was from October, when I heard my results, until yesterday, when I had the joy and honour to receive the piece of paper saying I have an MA in Christian spirituality from Heythrop College, University of London. (Once you’ve been awarded the degree, you become a graduate.)

I’ve not been well with a lingering chest cold, and so at the beginning of the day prayed that I would be fully present to this momentous experience and not feeling like it was one more thing to do in busy December. As I sat down with my fellow graduands after the academic royalty processed in, I was struck in that moment with a deep sense of gratitude. Here I was, a girl from Minnesota, receiving an award from the oldest College in the University of London. I paused to give thanks.

Shaking the hand of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of London

The most moving part of the ceremony came as the queue of robed people lessened as one by one we received our degrees, and one man wearing a suit – no robes – remained. We learned that he was the husband of Magali Nicole, who had died unexpectedly while pursuing her studies, and so the university awarded her a postgraduate diploma. We all applauded robustly, perhaps imagining the journey that gentleman had lived in the last year, while we reflected on issues of life and death.

I was grateful that Nicholas could attend the graduation ceremony with me. I was hoping our snow day of Monday would have extended into day two, so that the kids could come as well, but that was not to be. My family have lived through essays, long reading lists, and many a holiday-without-me in the past two years, and I’m so grateful for their love and support. I toasted them at our celebratory dinner last night.

The day was poignant, as this is the penultimate graduation ceremony of Heythrop College. It was founded in 1614 in Belgium for the education of English Jesuits, moving to London following the wars related to the French Revolution in 1840, just four years after the University of London was established. But it will close in 2018, its Kensington site sold to the company that owns the Shard, with the lovely grounds becoming a posh retirement community.

My years at Heythrop have been rich. Making such lovely friends with my fellow students has been one of the best unexpected gifts. I’ve learned so very much, not only about mystical theology, but about myself. One of the biggest things, I suppose, is that I can do academic work. It was only in my final rewrite of my dissertation, that third week on my own in August when the silence of the vicarage became oppressive, that I found my voice – with the prayers of some close friends, the comments of my readers, and the cheerleading of my writing group.

Lovely Ann, whom I met in my second year.

Selfie smiles with Angela, who managed to do the degree in less than a year!

What next? A period of rest after me being far too busy for the last couple of years, with the MA and my two books having come out in 2015 and 2016. And then, perhaps a one-year practical course starting in September next year to become a spiritual director.

Life is never dull, is it?