Graduation 2026

Abby was awarded her degree this weekend in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Michigan.

The main graduation was on Saturday where 14,000 students earned their degrees and the University of Michigan conferred its one millionth degree since it was founded, which is quite a milestone. More on the Saturday ceremony later.

For the record, that she graduated with that degree means she is a heckuva lot smarter than I am.

In addition to that, at the smaller and much more personal graduation ceremony for the MCDB Department, on Friday evening, she walked and received her degree certificate and her thesis was announced.

She also received the award that is given to the honors undergraduate with the highest ranked thesis not just in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology but in the entire Biology Department. That make her the #1 graduate out of 600 graduates. The Review team for the award had comments that included that the thesis was not an undergraduate level but was instead a thesis at the doctoral level, which is amazing.

For the record, that means she is a heckuva, heckuva, lot smarter than I am.

The members of the lab she worked at, including the head professor of the lab, and two of her co-(and more senior) researchers and friends who had just earned their Ph.D.s were there to cheer her on. 

She's going to work in the lab this summer as an actual employed (and paid!) Research Aisstant and then she will be heading out of town to a PH.D. program in  Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology to make her mark in the world doing some cutting-edge research in the field.

To say I'm beyond proud is an understatement.