Communication Honors Day: A Special Farewell

By: Candice Crutchfield

The Administrative Assistant of the Mass Communication building, Pat Ebrahimi, is beginning a new chapter of her life. On April 15, 2015 at the Annual Department of Communication Honors Ceremony, a special farewell was prepared for Pat Ebrahimi.

The surprise goodbye for Ebrahimi's retirement could not have came soon enough. Students and faculty scurried around the room before the ceremony to make sure everything was set up and ready to go.

The honors ceremony began with snacks and refreshments. After everyone was settled, Department Chair, Dr. Sally Hardig, lead the ceremony along with other Communication and Mass Communication professors.

Dr. Hardig bragged about the Communication and Mass Communication students that were receiving rewards. She signed over 100 certificates, she said. "I ran two pens out of ink."

Pat Ebrahimi at the Communication Honors Ceremony

Several rewards later the lights were dimmed, and Dr. Bruce Finklea, along with a hand full of students, lined up in the front of the room.

They each read quotes from students and faculty who knew Ebrahimi. Dr. Finklea read a quote of his own.

"I honestly can't imagine what it will be like without you," says Finklea. As a former Mass Communication student of the University of Montevallo, Dr. Finklea has known Ebrahimi for years. "We go way back," Finklea says.

A current Mass Communication major, Gerald Cunningham, says that he will miss Ebrahimi's originality. "She's so nice and she's so helpful, and she really goes out of her way to get what you need," says Cunningham.

By the end of the ceremony Pat Ebrahimi was overwhelmed with emotion. "I'm just going to miss everyone, especially the students," says Ebrahimi.