Joella's Hooding Ceremony

We traveled to Lawrence this weekend for Joella's med school graduation hooding ceremony. Dan drove to Wichita from Tulsa in the morning, met up with us and Joella, and we all carpooled to Lawrence together. We arrived at about 2:30 and met our Phillips grandparents, our Uncle Don who flew in from Pittsburg, and Nathan and Ashley at an old family friend's house.

Joella and Don

Grandmother Phillips

Grandfather Phillips

Ashley and Nathan

Dan

We hung out there for a couple of hours, then adjourned to an early dinner at Marisco's, where we met up with Uncle Mike and Aunt Robyn, and Grandma Frye.

The hooding ceremony at the Lied Center started at 7:00. We arrived a little early, giving us more time for family photos. An ice cream truck was trolling the parking lot for customers, and someone dared Nathan to chase it down. He gladly obliged. The truck driver didn't seem very amused when he found out that Nathan was just running after him for a photo op, and not for a tasty treat. LOL

Everyone minus the photographer

The Phillips side of the family

Aren't we cool?

Just for you, Stacie

Sisters (I'm glad I'm not the only pale person on the planet)

Nathan in an unusual moment of exuberance (and the Frye side of the fam)

Joella gets ready to go in

Nathan goes for ice cream

The ceremony itself was a little long, but it was cool to see Joella get her hood and her two awards. She was awarded the Janet M. Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation for being a woman in the top 10% of her class, as well as the Willard J. Smith, M.D. Award for Academic Achievement for her superior academic performance. She was also recognized for her participation in two honor societies: the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She'll be going on to a couple of residency training programs: a Transitional year to be spent at Methodist Hospital in Houston, and then four years of Radiation Oncology Residency at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She's very excited about both (they were her top choices for residency programs).

Joella is hooded

Dr. Joella E. Wilson, M.D.!

We drove back home to Wichita with Dan after the ceremony. Jeff and Dan napped while Michelle avoided several suicidal deer on the turnpike. It was NOT fun. Luckily, we and the deer survived our harrowing journey home.