The graduation ceremony was held at the Phillips Center for Performing Arts and it was so fun to see the room decorated in UF's orange and blue, dentistry's purple, and the graduates dressed in their regalia.
In the sea of new dentists...
...was my new dentist!
I was pretty much a puddle the whole time! When Jeff got his hood, I don't think I've ever been more proud! Drs. Weinstein and Hauptman draped his doctoral hood on him.
He walked across the stage and received his diploma from Dean Dolan and we all help up our signs (per Hart/Hackett tradition) and cheered wildly!
After Jeff received his hood, I couldn't wait to finally give him a hug and congratulate my hard-working (and soon to be gainfully employed) man!
P looks awfully concerned in this photo but, I assure you, she was very happy and proud of her Daddy!
Jeff was fortunate to have made some great friends in dental school. They made me feel old (a lot) and always managed to call during nap time but, we are grateful for their friendship.
Phil and Jeff
Jeff and Don
Jeff and Shavon
The three stooges...Jeff, Phil and Melika
Jeff had the most wonderful team leader for his clinic the last two years. Dr. Weinstein was such a great help to Jeff and I know he enjoyed working with her every day.
Perhaps Jeff's biggest fan is his little Sweet P! She will never remember joining our family in the midst of dental school but, I will be sure she knows how hard Daddy worked to provide for his family!
There are two Dr. Toblers in this picture too! Pretty cool, huh!?! We were so glad that Kyle and Charlie came to celebrate with us.
Jeff and his proud parents. We had a lot of fun celebrating with them over graduation week!
Of course, no graduation would be complete without signs courtesy of Ashley. After so many graduations, she's got them down! They are such a fun tradition. It's a great way to leave no doubt who we are there supporting, embarrass the graduate a little bit, and it makes it much easier to find each other in a large crowd!
Graduation would also be incomplete without one of these gems...us being us (in all of our glory). Clearly, Ashley was fully committed to this. I.love.us.
Nothing says "we did it!" like a 20 oz bone-in ribeye.I think everyone enjoyed their delicious beef, except Jeff's mom...who ordered chicken (which was met with great disapproval).
Dinner was so much fun and a great end to a fabulous day. We all had a great giggle when Jeff opened his gift from the Hacketts and Peepers (which were a fancy set of golf clubs). My mom thought she'd be really cleaver and put some club playing cards in the bag to hint at the gift. She exclaimed, "Do you get it? They're clubs!" Unfortunately, she had put in the spades (or shovels). It was pretty funny!
I cannot even begin to tell you how proud I am of Jeff. He worked so hard to accomplish a goal he set more than 10 years ago. Despite set-backs along the way, he persisted and did everything he could to achieve his dream, our dream. Watching Jeff receive his hood and diploma, and have his Doctoral degree conferred, was one of the most rewarding moments of my life and I am so grateful to him for working so hard and to Him for blessing us along the way.
After 15 years in Gainesville for me and 11 years for Jeff, we are finally ready to close the "student" chapter in our lives and move onto the next...life as the Drs. Tobler and Sweet P in the great state of Texas. Viva Frisco!
1 comment:
Yay for Jeff!!!
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