By Emmie Dickman
While we all adjusted to a new way of living, learning and working due to COVID-19, I struggled.
As a senior, I knew I would be saying goodbye, just not this soon. I will not sit in a physical classroom as an undergraduate again. I did not get to say goodbye to some of my friends, and I did not walk across a graduation stage in May.
Yet, through this emotional time, I can do nothing but admire the staff and faculty who had to make these tough decisions to protect our campus. The university staff has remained transparent and supportive, which is all we can ask for as students.
Just as adjusting to online classes was difficult, we also had to adjust to a very different economy that mere weeks before looked strong. Now, graduation also brought job uncertainty.
Even though the university was not preparing us for an unforeseen pandemic the last three and half years, our professors were preparing us to take on the unknown world post-graduation with an outstanding education. Like all of the graduates who have come before us, the university has prepared us for whatever is to come after receiving our diplomas, even if there is no symbolic ceremony.
While I don’t know what life looks like when you receive this magazine, I know that we, as students, as faculty, as alumni, are resilient and are equipped for whatever comes.
