Graduating College During a Global Pandemic

Photo by Mohammad Shahhosseini on Unsplash

I was in San Juan for Spring Break in March 2020, I only had two months left of undergrad but little did I know that that last class session before Spring Break started, would be the last time I saw my classmates in person. I was actually on vacation watching the news as the world stopped. I never watch the news. My friends and I even got put on lockdown in San Juan. On our last day, they put out an emergency alert, giving us a curfew to be inside by 5:00p.m.

When I got back to the United States, everything felt paused and I never really knew what was going to happen next. Classes got canceled, which meant Spring Break got extended and people were losing their jobs left and right.

Virtual Classes

Going from in-person classes to online was an adjustment that took many of us to get used to. Some professors did not require the camera to be on, and some did. Some professors did not do Zoom meetings at all and just sent emails and uploaded assignments on Canvas with a due date.

It is not an ideal college experience, especially when your professor becomes negligent. Thankfully, since I was set to graduate in May 2020, I was reaching the end of my senior year. So in my case, it was perfect timing. Had I just been starting college, I do not think my college experience would have been as enjoyable as it was. This is another downfall college students have had to face for 1, going on 2 years now.

Graduation

When I first found out I was not getting a graduation I had mixed emotions. I looked forward to commemorating my accomplishments over the past four years, but having to walk in front of hundreds to thousands of people while they all watched me walk across a stage brought me anxiety and at the time, I felt blessed to have been able to escape that.

May 18, 2020, was the day our graduation was supposed to take place. Instead, we got a TV screen presentation while our names and majors rolled across the screen. When I first got the news I was not getting a graduation ceremony I was surprisingly fine, when the day came it was bittersweet. What made it all bittersweet was having to attend my college graduation from the comfort of my bed. I felt like I was not completely done and almost like I was left hanging to the side.

May 15, 2021, CAU’s class of 2020 ended up getting an in-person graduation, with Stacey Abrams as our commencement speaker. Ms. Abrams said something that stuck with me, she said: “This may not be your year of commencing because you have already gotten out there and started, but this is an opportunity to review what you already know”. When I came back to Clark’s campus, I did not come back to the same person. I was an alumna. I was a year removed and I already took what Clark taught me into the real world. Usually, the first time alumni come back to their alma mater is for homecoming. I came back to celebrate the four years I gave to Clark Atlanta University. Before the graduation happened, I was only going for my parents. After graduation, I left with the closure I never knew I needed. The closure every recent college grad needs before entering the real world. A rite of passage.

Post Graduation

For most people, entering the real world would normally start right after graduating college or high school if they chose not to attend college. I entered in March 2020. Everything happened so abruptly, so it felt like I needed to have everything together quickly. It hit me when I started waking up every day trying to figure out my next step. After I graduated I wanted to stay in Atlanta, but since the pandemic just started moving back to Nashville (my hometown) felt like the right thing to do at the time for myself. I’ve learned that life is a marathon, not a race. Comparing your life to others in any way will almost always result in unhappiness. Listening to others will also result in unhappiness. Everyone thinks they know what’s best for you, but they don’t. Only you do. So do what you think is best for you. After all, you are the one who has to live YOUR life, they don’t.

Wherever you are is where you are supposed to be. You have to work those temporary jobs until you are able to get that dream job. You also have to be willing to put in the work. Listen to your gut, follow your heart, and wherever life takes you the ones that truly love you will support you every step of the way. Everyone is figuring it out whether they show it or not.

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Jada Goggins

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