Smiles, Applause, and a Wolf

Last night I attended the Graduate Commencement Ceremony at UC Davis, an event I used to be in charge of coordinating. I casually volunteered to help in case my help was needed since my replacement in Graduate Studies hadn’t done this before; my help on the night probably wasn’t, but thanks so much for offering; suddenly, on Monday, desperately it was, there being so many special circumstances and just not enough people to handle them: there were two hearing-impaired students (one with a dog, an apparent Portuguese Water mix) who needed to sit in front by a screen where they could read the live captioning by the bearded, smiling Devon (who afterwards gave them both beautifully wrapped gifts, such a mensch, he) and be told when to join their lines, especially since the non-dog owning one was getting two different master’s degrees and wanted to walk twice; a faculty presenter who had shattered her kneecap (ouch) and was on crutches, also needing to sit up front with her student so she wouldn’t have so far to hobble; a student in a wheelchair who wanted to process with her class and who also had a dog (a loopy golden retriever, not that there’s really any other kind) who’d be joining her for the photo (a special before-ceremony arrangement) but who’d be sitting (the dog, that is) with her family during the ceremony; and David, a PhD candidate in Comparative Pathology in a wheelchair whose guide dog was a wolf. Timber wolf mixed with something-Valley-wolf (Siona could probably tell this by looking at the wolf, but I can’t). No dog. No domestic dog involved at all in the genetics, at all. At ALL. I think her name was Ohlona. She mostly slept through the ceremony on a fleece pad he brought for her.

My job last night was to make sure all of them were where they needed to be, plus run and get water or escort any one of them to the bathroom or what have you.

As arbitrary as it might sound, PhD students at Davis process onstage in order of faculty-presenter-last-name. David’s presenter’s last name started with a Z, which put him onstage last, even though they both started from the front row.

He went up the ramp at rear and crossed the stage in his powered wheelchair with Ohlona at his left, so the entire 6,000 people or so gathered there could see her. He stood up from his wheelchair, unsteady and swaying somewhat, to be hooded.

The entire place exploded. I mean, really, really went nuts.

Ohlona smiled a knowing, wolf smile. I cried. So, I think, did David, and I’m going to bet we weren’t the only ones. This was why, I thought. This was why I used to do this. Doesn’t mean I can’t in the future. I just don’t have to lose months of sleep beforehand anymore. But this is why the work I did there was important.