I took care of the whole thing myself without lawyers, so I ended up paying something like $950 in various filing fees.

How did you get that diploma/plaque, is that something every patent author will have?

You can buy them from various manufacturers that make them; you often get unsolicited mail from them as your name and address is on the patent filings.

The plaque was a personal order from one of the many companies that make them. What you actually get from the USPTO looks like this: https://x.com/EricLengyel/status/1159917092331642880/photo/1