Moments to remember, to share and to reflect

Some moments in life are more remarkable, more satisfying. Getting married, birth of a new baby, family reunion, vacationing are all milestone to treasure, to look forward to.

I had some little but memorable moments the last few days. Moments that represent small victories in a world where  there's always plenty of equally nagging moments. In short, they were profound and extraordinary in every sense of those words.

On April 7-8, I participated in the 36th annual spring conference of Illinois Community Colleges Journalism Association, a two-day event that brought together 17 schools and more than 140 attendees.

Many student journalists have won individual awards on that occasion but most of all, The Uptown Exchange, the newspaper I then served as a staff writer, garnered third place in Overall Excellence in the Layout section.

Then the Community Service Awards came, where my colleagues, The Uptown Exchange staff and I were awarded individual certificates in recognition for civic engagement and service learning, at a dinner party, on April 28, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

A day later, I was awarded two diplomas at a Scholar’s Luncheon, an event organized to recognize high achieving students, and held at Marcello’s Restaurant, a cozy restaurant near downtown Chicago from 1 p.m. to 3p.m. One diploma was to honor my contribution, participation and completion of Trio Student Support Services’ socio-cultural and leadership seminars, and the other for maintaining an exceptionally high GPA.

But the most significant moment of all came on Wednesday May 11, at a Graduation Pavilion when I was asked severally to rise for achieving the highest honors, for being a lifetime member of an honor roll society and to receive a college degree thereof with the rights, honors and privileges that come with it.

To be recognized four times in a span of about thirty days is in the least humbling. As for me, I feel truly appreciated in the community I’m a member of and in the duties I rise to perform every day. It’s also a new challenge to keep up the efforts that led to those moments, to maintain the momentum and to inspire others to follow, much more to lead.

Last but not the least, it’s a moment to thank those who, by design or default, contributed to those honorable moments whether teachers, friends, workmates or family. In the end, I feel these are moments to remember, to share and to reflect.