My Sharpie Diploma

There are plenty of standouts in Georgetown's Class of 2012 - people who run humanitarian organizations, people going on to prestigious scholarships and fellowships, people who are on their way to running their own countries.  But I have something that I don't think anyone else at Georgetown has - I have a Sharpie Diploma.

"President DeGioia, is this your handwriting?"

So here's what happened.  I got an email a few days before graduation that said:

"Due to either a change in Latin honors or the misspelling of your name, we had to reorder your diploma.  We are sorry we will not able to distribute it to you tomorrow after the SFS Commencement Ceremony.  We will have a packet with other graduation materials for your pickup in the diploma line in the ICC Galleria."


Okay, so I'm not getting a diploma at graduation.  That's okay.  (I still get to graduate!)  But when I get in line to go pick up my packet - I'm surprised to see that yes, there is a diploma in it!  Maybe I just got the email by accident?


I go find my parents, and of course they want to see it.  So I open the big envelope and...there's a nice big diploma...with Sharpie writing on it.  Turns out, nothing was misspelled - there were just some scratches on the line that lists Latin Honors, so they Sharpie'd across that line and rewrote it to show what needed to be reprinted.  It looks like a first grader's handwriting...if that first grader was writing blindfolded...holding the pen in his foot instead of his hand...and also drunk.   

MCSJ was quite impressed.

We tried to find DeGioia so I could ask him to sign it, but no luck.  I might try to track him down this summer for an "autograph." 

If they had just given me the scratched up diploma, minus the Sharpie, I probably would have never even noticed the little imperfection.  It was SUCH a minor mistake...until they crossed it out in Sharpie and wrote around it.  It's great that the school wants the diplomas to be perfect - and I worked really, really hard for those Latin Honors so I'm glad they're reordering my diploma so I can show 'em off, scratch-free!  

It is also nice that I effectively get TWO Georgetown diplomas.  I hear that this is usually a one-shot deal.  I lucked out.  It's like my education had twins!

My parents were a little unnerved by Sharpie Diploma at first - "Over fifty grand a year, and somebody doodles on her diploma?" - but then we decided that this is a great little oddball memento.  

The Dean's Office probably intends for us to throw out this "dud" diploma once we get the re-ordered one in, all nice and clean.  But we're framing this one, too.