Graduating Amidst A Global Epidemic

By: Emily Lockatell

“I had so many expectations of graduating and taking my first step into the world with a degree to show for it, but instead I am barricaded inside with an Amazon-delivered cap and gown that I will probably never wear,” says Catherine Frey.

Frey, a graduating student of Ramapo College of New Jersey, says she never foresaw this kind of sendoff from her college career. But to be fair, no one could have predicted the onset of a deadly virus that would bring the entire world to its knees.

Like Frey, many people’s lives have been seemingly flipped upside down as society has been forced to put everything that is considered non-essential on hold. There are countless things that Frey and other people like her are grateful for during this time: good health, a safe space to call home, plenty of food and good company. But, it is still unfortunate that seniors like Frey are missing out on events like the graduation of college: that is a huge achievement and it is something that many people look forward to for a long time.

How did you adjust to quarantine in the first few weeks? What did you expect was going to happen?

Adjusting at the beginning wasn’t so bad. I guess I didn’t see quarantine being a long-term thing so it kind of felt a little like a break at that point. Those feelings faded pretty quickly but the initial adjusting wasn’t so bad.

What has been the hardest thing about being online for your final semester? What was your internship like when you had to convert to digital?

Finding motivation has been the hardest part of the online transition. I don’t think I fully understood how much working in a room with other people and bouncing ideas around help me. I found it hard staying focused when I was in my room and had cats and food and the internet to constantly distract me. I really started to miss the office environment and I never thought I’d feel that way.

I interned for a Digital Growth Agency called Blue Circle Marketing. My primary job was logo, print, and web design. In a creative field, getting consent feedback really helped guide all of my work. Transitioning to Zoom made it so I would only check in twice a day and I felt like I started doubting myself more as a result.

What are some things that your school is doing to try to celebrate the graduating class?

So my school isn’t really doing much, which is kind of disappointing. They keep telling us that we will have a ceremony at some point even if it’s to a smaller scale but I don’t think people are going to care at that point, whenever that is. The day of our actual ceremony they told us all to tune into the graduation webpage for ‘celebratory video from college leadership and a special perforce of the alma mater.’ I don’t think I could care less about either of that. They are also really pushing us to post photos on social media with their hashtags. I think it’s frustrating that they’re really not doing anything for us but they want it to look like we are online.

Do you wish your school was taking a different approach — like maybe having a convocation later this year or something else?

I think it’s difficult to say what the right thing to do is. On one hand I feel like we all worked really hard to get to this point and deserve that special moment at graduation. But I also understand how difficult it will be to reschedule an event of this size. I guess I just wish they were trying to make this more special for us. I mean to be honest, it doesn’t really feel like I’m graduating. Without being there in person at my internship, or being on campus, or having the ceremony everything feels frozen in time.

Has this ruined your senior year or your overall college experience?

I’m not sure this ruined my senior year. I completed an internship in my field and am graduating and that’s all that really matters in the end. I think I go through phases of being upset about it. It sucks to know how much work me and every other graduate has put into our education and then we have nothing to look forward to besides getting our degrees sent in the mail.

Even though it can be easy to complain and look at the negative side of a bad situation there are plenty of ways in which we can adjust our outlook. Sure, people are missing out on things like graduation, prom, birthdays and other personal milestones, but that does not mean that we should throw in the towel and simply feel sorry for ourselves. Viral trends promoting “digital care” have been taking the internet by storm and many people are finding a bright side of this unusual situation.