This gives some perspective on Harvard Yard during Commencement. We found seats a few rows back in this tent on old Yard; New Yard, which is where the stage is positioned and the graduates sit, is through those buildings in the distance. Several video boards are placed around the Yard (you can see one in the distance in this photo), and the audio was perfect. The rain never arrived…during the main ceremony at least.

The rain arrived as we walked from the main Commencement ceremony to Leverett for the House Ceremony. Family members had saved us seats (the perfect seats, btw), but we never got to use them because the rain slowly built to a downpour, while ultimately forced the Leverett deans to move the ceremony inside. They split graduates into four or five smaller groups by last name (“Buchanan” paid off - the first group was A-D), and then held a ceremony in a small theater in the dorm for each group. It was a tough situation, but they did a great job of adjusting on the fly. Here Jonathan just received his diploma from the deans.

Harvard holds Commencement in the full Yard - old and new. The entire area is covered in folding chairs. Getting a seat is not particularly challenging, but figuring out where to be to see your graduate enter the Yard is a different story. I had resigned myself to not being able to watch him walk into the Yard, but Renee pressed on. She found the absolute perfect spot for us to stand as Leverett House entered, which allowed me to get some great shots as Jonathan walked by. I’m forever grateful for her efforts, because I literally watched Jonathan’s smile appear on his face as he spotted us.

Jonathan waited along the side of the theater after receiving his diploma. He was still grinning, and I loved it.

I took this photo literally a second after the one above, a few frames later in the sequence. Jonathan had noticed Renee and me during that second and started to smile. I’ll never forget seeing that smile appear on his face as he noticed us in the crowd. Thank you, Renee.

We took the T to a restaurant for dinner afterwards, Jonathan riding in full regalia. I captured this photo during that ride with my phone. Sometimes it’s the perfect camera.

I searched for Jonathan through the viewfinder, which was no small task. This is one of the first photos I took after finding him. He’s focused, and hasn’t found us yet. Renee’s off to my right, taking video.

They had a beautiful setup on the courtyard at Leverett House. Family had arrived early and saved seats for us, just off to the right and out of frame here. The green seats were reserved for the graduates, and Jonathan’s assigned seat just happened to be right next the the seats that were saved for us. It would have been a perfect setup, but the rain changed things. No worries…the main and house ceremonies were wonderful despite the rain.

We picked a spot on the bridge across the street from Leverett House to take some photos with family after the ceremony. I absolutely love this shot with Jake and Jonathan. Jake was so proud of Jonathan, boasting about him to his buddies all week.

The rain had all of us a bit disheveled. Well, me at least. My shirt was a mess, as was my hair. My jacket was long gone, soaked after serving as an umbrella as we sat in the Leverett courtyard waiting for the call to take the ceremony inside.