Transitions Ceremony

To know what's going on in these pictures, you'll need a little background info. Chiro school here at NYCC is 10 trimesters long. They go year-round, with only a couple of weeks off in between the trimesters - consequently, every tri is 1/3 of a year. Cory is just finishing his 7th tri (2 weeks of finals, then done!) The last year of education (8th, 9th & 10th trimesters) are spent doing mostly clinical work, with only a few online classes - very different than going to class from 8am - 6pm, every day. He'll see patients and do everything that comes with that (making a diagnosis, a treatment plan, soft tissue work, adjustments, etc). It's similar to a residency. For this last year of education and all the clinical work, students have the option of staying here in Seneca Falls, going to Depew (in the Buffalo area), or going down to Levittown (on Long Island). Cory and I are staying here, mostly 'cause I have an awesome job here at the school, and we are too lazy to move. Since the class is splitting up, 7th trimester is the last time the whole class will be together (until graduation, July 2009). The school holds what's called a Transitions Ceremony, held at the end of 7th tri, to mark the passage of students into 8th tri, and thereby into the clinical portion of their education. They give out a few awards, have a key-note speaker, repeat the chiropractic oath, and dress the students in their white lab coats.

Yesterday was the Transitions Ceremony, held for Cory's class. It was bittersweet. It's amazing to me that he only has one year left! It's very exciting! He's worked so hard for so long, and now he gets to put all that knowledge into use in the clinics. I'm so very proud of him - more than really can be put into words. At the same time, it was sad because we've made some truly great friends out here, and they are moving to the other clinics.










Cory, getting his white lab coat from Dr. Bobak (Dean of Chiropractic), his class repeating the chiropractic oath, and Cory looking snazzy in his new coat.

The school also hosts a luncheon after the ceremony, where students can mingle with family, friends, faculty members, and take a lot of pictures.









Cory's entire tri in their coats, Cory, Carlos & Jonathan (aka "the three amigos"), and the boys again, goofing around.

We went out to Applebees for dinner, to celebrate. Jonathan & Jaime, and their cute new addition, Brooke, are moving to Buffalo for this last year of school. Carlos & Erica, and their adorable kids Elena & Jacob, are also moving to Buffalo for this last year. We're going to miss them both terribly. They have been awesome friends to us, and it's been so nice to be able to spend time with people who share our values. I'm going to miss girls nights with Erica and Jaime. I'm going to miss lunch with Carlos & Jonathan, and their wicked sense of humor. I'm going to miss playing bocce, badminton, and the Wii at Jonathan's. I'm going to miss sitting next to Erica at church, and playing with her kids. Cory & I are both going to miss having friends to hang out with. These 2 families have been wonderful to us and we'll miss them terribly. They're only going to be 2 hours away, so I'm sure we'll be visiting!