My older son officially graduated high school today.

I just returned from the Commencement ceremony for the East Lansing High School Class of 2007. James, my son, graduated Summa Cum Laude (or merely Magna Cum Laude if you look in the wrong place) and took the special walk across the stage, along with about 275 of his classmates.

It was a special day for my wife, Sherry, and I because not only did we have our son graduating with honors, but we also had bonds with a couple dozen other graduates who I had coached in soccer, Sherry had led in both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, or we had cheered for as the other Senior members of the very successful Quiz Bowl team.

Speaking of the ELHS Quiz Bowl team and their success this year…

As already mentioned on this blog, the Quiz Bowl team won the Quiz Busters tournament in March of this year. In April, they followed that up with a win in the Michigan State Quiz Bowl Championship, making them the official State Champions for this year. Then, late last month, both the A and B varsity teams went to the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament in Chicago and qualified for the finals, where the A team (the one James played on) placed 13th in the nation.

The Quiz Bowl success was such that the class President, Kate Mulhern, mentioned in her commencement speech that it should be a recognized varsity sport. Ms. Mulhern also happens to be the daughter of Jennifer M. Granholm, the current Governor of the State of Michigan. (It was interesting to see the Governor in the same crush of people leaving after the proceedings were finished.)

The whole event (and an event it was) was held at the Great Hall of the Wharton Center at Michigan State University, and we were actually restricted to only seven tickets (yes, tickets) per graduate. It was definitely an impressive commencement, reminiscent of and rivaling my sister’s graduation from Texas A&M University. (It was far more impressive than my own commencement from the same high school.)

We are very proud of what James accomplished during the last four years, and next fall, our younger son, William, starts his own career at East Lansing High School, while James continues his education in the Honor College at Michigan State University.