Matriculation

Matriculation day! I realize now that I have not made a point to emphasize the unique weather in the U.K. during the last week. Hot. That is all. Records for October were broken today, I am told, as well as year-long highs this entire week. I thought England was supposed to be rainy and cold, just like Oregon? Oh well, it is hard to complain. However, matriculation day meant 15 hours in a suit, a tad uncomfortable.

The day started with a meeting in the chapel of King’s College, where we officially signed ourselves in as students at the University of Cambridge. We then received a great speech from King’s provost, the head of the college. I had a great conversation with the provost at the Marshall Reception in London. This time, he was much more serious and gave a rousing speech about the importance of your education at Cambridge. He then reminded us that it was our opportunity to lose, and turned and walked away without saying another word. Fairly intense, you could say.

We then lined up for our matriculation photo, followed by lunch and a discussion in groups over The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, our summer reading assignment. A few briefings about housing, safety, finances, and college life later, we were able to take a brief break before the matriculation dinner. I did not take photos of the matriculation dinner, but if you have seen any of the Harry Potter movies you can imagine what the grand dining hall looked like. After dinner and another rousing speech, we were set free to the college bar to celebrate our matriculation.

King's dining hall set-up like it was during matriculation (from King's website).

King's dining hall set-up like it was during matriculation (from King's website).