Hi guys, I am so excited to be posting this blog!
This week I traveled to Tempe, Arizona (part of the Greater Phoenix Area) to finally attend my Arizona State University Convocation and be recognized for finishing my Master of Arts in Communication! I ended up graduating with a 4.0 and I am super stoked to share photos from the big day!
ASU has two different types of ceremonies I could have attended: the Graduate Commencement and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Convocation. The difference between the two is at the Graduate Commencement (all colleges at the university), Masters graduates are only hooded (drapes over the back of your neck) by faculty on the main floor and then return to their seats to listen and watch the rest of the ceremony. Only the Ph.D students are allowed to walk the stage and have their pictures taken! At the Convocation, Ph.D graduates, Masters graduates and Undergraduates are allowed to walk the stage, have their names read and have their picture taken. I chose the latter because I really wanted the experience of walking across the stage!
I only spent 2 full days in the Phoenix area, one for attending graduation and another day for fun. It was worth it though and I was so happy to be a part of the big day! Just an FYI: this isn’t going to be a typical day-by-day travel blog but more of a highlighted one. I did see a friend, his wife and daughter for sushi at Blue Wasabi, met a classmate for coffee and actually found one brewery I enjoyed called Fate Brewing Company (I’m name dropping, hint hint), but I really wanted to focus on the experiences I had instead of the food aspect this time (I only had coffee, bagels/breakfast sandwiches, sushi, salads and beer on this trip!).
Enjoy! 🙂
Graduation Campus Shots
Since the Convocation was at 7:30 p.m. at night, that meant that I needed to get day shots around campus.
Prior to me traveling to Arizona, I inquired on the ASU Online Sun Devil Facebook Group what the best time of day would be to get pictures. A student named James wrote back saying early morning and evening, but that was not an ideal time for me. Long story short, we ended up private messaging one another and he offered to not only take photos from my iPhone, but also offered to shoot me with his professional camera on the house. I was so surprised but grateful! I bought him a Starbucks after out shoot on campus, which only took about an hour.
The shots below are at one of the main ASU signs, Old Main (historic building from the late 1800s) + the fountain and at the Palm Walk (walkway with 100 date palms). You can also check out the video of me strutting the Palm Walk under the “ASU” stories on my Instagram page!
Convocation
I had to be at Sun Devil Stadium between 6 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. to check-in for my name reader card for The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Convocation (the Convocation link is to the whole ceremony, which was filmed). The Masters and Ph.D graduates sat in the first 5 rows toward the front of the stage while the Undergraduates sat in the remaining rows behind us. After introductions, recognitions, marching orders, the National Anthem and a brief speech by the dean, we were called row-by-row/one-by-one to get in line to walk up to the stage. I had my picture taken prior to walking up the stairs onto the backstage, with an ASU backdrop and a diploma holder backstage, and then in front of all attendees with my name read by a faculty member. The whole thing took about 5 minutes. I even threw my hands up in the air walking down the stairs to celebrate!
I ended up leaving Convocation at 8:20 p.m. because I had to catch a 6 a.m. flight back to LA the next day. Luckily, I didn’t miss too much except some streamers that were set off into the graduation area and fireworks. By that time, the Convocation had run 2 1/2 hours and looking back at the recorded video, the stadium was practically empty because people had left!
You can check out the video of me walking the stage and other silly video shots I got prior to the event under the “ASU” stories my Instagram page!
Tiny Home
Something I had always wanted to do was stay in a tiny home! I am so fascinated by small spaces and what could be created in them. There are many in rural areas like the forest or desert in California, however, they are not that affordable even for a one night stay! When I saw this tiny home Airbnb listed for $80/night and about 5 blocks from campus, I immediately booked it!
The 8-feet x 8-feet space was hand crafted with care and had so many nice finishing touches from the marble sink area and the copper shower head to the wooden sleep loft and the stairs. It took about 30 minutes for me to get used to the space and my first attempt at fitting into the sleep area, but I was hooked after that.
I highly recommend trying out a tiny home on your next vacation! You can also check out my Instagram page under the “PHX” stories for video shots!
Waymo Driverless Vehicle
I had heard about driverless technology companies such as Cruise in the Bay Area, but when I heard that Waymo (part of the Google company) hosted its vehicles not just in the Bay Area but also in the southeast part of Phoenix (Chandler), I knew I had to try it out. I told very few people about my plans for this experience, which ranged from “OMG that’s cool!” to “OMG a bad idea” (that was my mom, but I got her on board with it after a couple tries)!
Because I was a few miles out of the service area (as seen in the photo below), I had to take my ride within it and decided to park my vehicle at a Walmart. Shortly after, I scheduled my Waymo vehicle and it told me where it would pick me up at Walmart. I only waited about 15 minutes before it came! It was a Chrysler van and I had to open the door, close it, tell the screen to “Start My Trip” (which was to a coffee shop), and buckle my seatbelt per the automated instructions!
Waymo IMO drives better than a human driver, LOL! Heck, it drives better than me, ok?! It is very smooth, safe and overly cautious. It knows when to stop for pedestrians, other vehicles, lights, uses a turn signal to change lanes – the list goes on, it just rocks! I wasn’t nervous one bit, I was more excited than anything! It also lets you know when it arrives at the destination. You can also request live help if you need it.
The total cost round trip was $37, which is much cheaper than Uber or Lyft! If you feel comfortable, I highly suggest trying this if you are in one of the two areas. I promise you, it’s totally safe and worth it! You can check out the videos of it driving on my Instagram page under the “PHX” stories!
Superstition Mountains
Superstition Mountains in Mesa (about 30 minutes east of Tempe) were formed from volcanic rock and something I wanted to see the last time I was in the Phoenix area 2 years ago, but didn’t have enough time. This time, I headed on the Apache Trail Scenic Byway to the Lost Dutchman State Park to get some shots. The ranger talked me out of paying the entrance fee ($7) because there was no historic route to see the mountains and to just take the photos from outside the gate. Hence, I listened.
I also tried the Superstition Zipline ($12) where you are strapped in sitting down. The zipline takes you up and forward at 30 mph for about 50 seconds and then it’s done, LOL! Unfortunately, the attendant explained he couldn’t take a video or photos from my iPhone of me on the ride, so this is the only shot I got.
Fountain Hills Park
On my Google search, I had heard about the “World’s Famous Fountain” in Fountain Hills (east of Scottsdale) that sprouts water up to 330-feet in a man made lake, more than Old Faithful can in Yellowstone National Park! The website claimed that it is active for 15 minutes on the hour, but I only saw it go off for about 10 seconds and not sprout high! After talking with a resident passing by, I guess when it is very windy, it is controlled not to reach its full height so it doesn’t spray water on those walking around the park and neighbor’s vehicles. Really?
If you happen to be by the park on a day that isn’t windy, I still would recommend checking it out! I also have a video on my Instagram page under “PHX” stories of it sprouting briefly!
Thank you all for supporting me throughout my graduate school journey! Now I can get back to posting blogs more frequently, stay tuned for the next one! 🙂
