GSPM Class of 2013 Pre-Graduation Party

Mom, me, Dad

So... It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. That's because I've been busy graduating and having my family in town! I have a couple of summer classes to finish up, but it was still really exciting to walk with my classmates last week. Grad school has been one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I had a lot of emotions throughout commencement weekend.

On a lighter note, I also have a LOT of photos and fun things to share from graduation and the week and a half my family was in town! For now, I'll leave you with a few shots from our pre-graduation party last Friday at 201 Bar on Capitol Hill

Parents + me + GSPM Director Former Congressman Mark Kennedy (R-MN) 

Jay + Jay's parents + me + my parents

me, Alex, David

So, it turns out the Former President of Mexico (Felipe Calderón) was at our party! His sister graduated with a Master's degree from one of the other programs, so he was there to celebrate. Unfortunately for the poor man, he got bombarded by shameless people like us wanting to be photographed with him. Sadly, the first photo, with my dad in it, didn't turn out. :(

me, Lupita, sister, Pres. Calderón, Mom

I got to bring +3 to the party: my best friend, Lupe (who flew in from Utah!), and my two DC friends, Stephanie and Andrea. 

Our end of the night supermodel shot. ;)

Unfortunately for us, we hadn't eaten dinner before the party. (We thought there would be real food there, but alas... All we found were little chicken bites on sticks.) So we peaced out of the party a little early and went over to Silver Diner in Rockville for some late-night eatin'.

So good!

We had a blast, and our tummies sure were happy! I really enjoyed getting to celebrate with my parents, classmates, and good girlfriends. :) I can truly say I wouldn't have made it through this program without support from my family and friends. From listening to my frustrations to encouraging me when I felt utterly overwhelmed... Thanks for everything, guys!! I sure do love you! :)

(And now, stay tuned for more graduation/vacation photos coming soon!! And I promise they won't ALL be such terrible iPhone quality photos!)