Items

• 
  2023-03-30

  Dancing In The Face Of Uncertainty

  My family and I were shown immense grace as the world endured the heart wrenching sorrow of the COVID-19 pandemic. May those whose lives were stolen by the coronavirus live forever in memory, and rest in eternal peace. At the onset of my second Freshman semester, the chatter among friends included ignorant musings such as: "what would happen if we got it?”, and my favorite, “the virus would NEVER come to the island.” Before Costco lines evoked Walmart on Black Friday, and up-to-the-minute death tolls became the linchpin of our media diet, the Bayonne Bridge signified a seemingly impenetrable chasm safeguarding Staten Island from a quarantined cruise ship in February 2020; because obviously airborne particles don’t pay tolls, right? A strange sense of wonder and excitement overtook the CSI campus on March 11, 2020: the day Gov. Cuomo announced CUNY & SUNY schools would “pause” in-person instruction. I'll never forget hearing the announcement on radio before walking to class for the last time until September 20, 2021. As I drove down Loop Road, a group of students (presumably upperclassman) cheered while blasting music on the Great Lawn. If those students truly were upperclassman, their dancing in the face of uncertainty would spite the commencement celebration they would never receive. I suspect a webpage and some pre-recorded speeches is an inutile stand-in for sitting among thousands of graduates on that very lawn. In tandem with devastation, panic, and uncertainty, the pandemic thrust society into a hard reset. So much of life is spent planning, yearning, and working towards the future - all of which are meaningless novelties to a hellacious virus. To survive the pandemic, besides evading COVID by way of masks, social distancing, and grace from above, each of us had to sift the remnants of our livelihoods to make out what our “new” present would look like. I thrived through the pandemic with music blasting, self-reflection, and a sense of liberation. Family bonds grew stronger, passion projects were completed, and for the first time in a decade, my life felt tranquil. I am repulsed by the fact that while millions took their final breath, businesses shuttered for good, and anxiety tormented the world, I found inner peace reminiscent of my childhood summers. Eerily, I vividly recall sitting in the basement of 2N during a 8am Geology class wishing for, “all this crap to end”, and lamenting, “why didn’t I go to SNHU or some college online?” I guess someone got their wish, and dragged humanity down with him. My father was the only non-essential worker in the house; he didn’t get that fancy paper from the state which supposedly let you free if cops pulled you over. We spent the first full day of lockdown scouring local stores for the coveted (and effective) N95 masks. At a time when the CDC told people to not wear masks so medical professionals had supplies, we were on a mission to guarantee we had protection for the long haul. My family recognized that the “pause” would not be a 1 to 2 month patty cake. My father was adamant his Window Cleaning & Power Washing business would collapse from the indefinite closures of his commercial clients. Our first purchase was the last 3-pack of Milwaukee N95s with those gaudy exterior respirators from homespun Garber’s Hardware. The ever-jovial gentlemen behind the counter adamantly said something to the effect of, “we’re gonna be here ’till they tell us to shut them doors.” 3 masks wouldn’t cut it, so we continued down the way to ye olde Sherwin Williams; where the employee had no suspicion we needed a 20-count box of 3M's finest for anything other than some recreational spray painting. Mask wearing wasn’t en vogue just yet. Those masks were needed when my Uncle could not get out of bed at 1:30pm the following Saturday. He worked the night prior, Friday the 13th, at his second job as a bouncer in Manhattan. On Saturdays he would saunter out of bed by 10:45 the latest; but here he was: frozen in bed, voice hoarse, and coughing like a smoker. I threw on the 95 and nitrile gloves just to speak to him from the hallway. That day was also the first time I ventured out in full biohazard regalia. I still remember the condescending scowls at my neighborhood’s second rate deli counter. The treatment advice the CDC hotline provided was to load up on Extra Strength Tylenol and guzzle water like there was no tomorrow. Thankfully my Uncle did see tomorrow and recovered in about 5 days. While my Dad and I kept our distance as my mother tended to the patient, we realized there must be a fruitful pastime besides burying our eyes in CNN coverage all day. My father, perpetually seeking the next project, came to the realization that, in plain english: we needed a pool table. When I was 6 years old, my father built a pool table out of wood when he was working for a contracting firm that operated in what is now Brooklyn’s Industry City. At 9 feet It conveniently sat atop our giant dinning room table. It was a gorgeous deep blue with every authentic accoutrement short of nicotine-reeking cloth. The table lasted about 8 months until my mom wanted her dining room back, fair enough. For a long time that table felt like a fever dream. After the it departure it was seldom mentioned; the balls and commemorative Coca-Cola cuestick sat dormant in the far reaches of our old home. The biggest hurdle to this project was space. The only feasible location was the unfurnished room in the back of our basement. The room experienced iterations as a screen-print emulsion lab, woodshop, actual chocolate factory, punching bag area, and video recording studio. After countless YouTube tutorials, including a Filipino gentleman building an unleveled table where all balls rolled to one side, we ventured to Lowe’s “Indoor Lumber Yard” to rekindle the magic of 2007. We sourced only the finest un-warped 2x4s and the purest synthetic wood crafted by the hands of man: Unfinished MDF Board. The 97 inch composite wouldn't fit down the basement stairwell, so we asked the one employee not running from us to cut it down the middle. Our makeshift table now presented two unique considerations: first, the board had to be precisely glued back together, and second, did you know commercial lumber dimensions are several inches off the actual product size? And in case you were not aware, “real” pool tables are made of slate. Breaking ground on March 19th, we used our decommissioned 20-year-old kitchen table as legs for our new creation. The board’s overhang allowed pockets to sit freely (no ball return system needed). On the days I had online class, my father intended to go downstairs “for about an hour” in the morning, before getting stuck in a jam by lunch, and working until dinner. I would assist in between classes, and when I was free, we’d get caught up in the room for hours on end. With Music Choice and MTV Classic the soundtrack of our toil, my Dad and I measured “tournament standard” dimensions - only to be slightly off, argued about what the heck a 142 degree cut really is, and savored the aromatics of wood glue and contact cement. The room was coated in sawdust, with scrap wood scattered neatly about. I was finally involved in my dad’s carpentry prowess after years of staring at his convoluted tools. Have you heard a Mitter saw in action? The grinding of the spiraling blades drown your ears with the screams of a motorcycle whizzing through a tunnel. I’d wince in fear that the time would come when the blade’s “SHING” would be followed by an agonized scream. My dad made mention of how woodshop teachers were always missing an appendage. He even shared horror stories like the time the blade guard failed to engage on a circular saw, skid free, peeled the side of his boot, cut through floor tiles, and sputtered wildly until it sliced the power cord. When I did schoolwork upstairs while listening to SiriusXM (another pandemic coping tool) I regularly heard my dad belt obscenities en español louder than both of our blaring radios. The table was declared playable at 8pm on Monday March 30th. I know this because the music on tv tuned to a channel recording CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE (I DVR’d many movies during lockdown). The table is not 100% complete, and has some quirks which challenge you to be a better player. We practiced and played on that table at least an hour a day everyday until in-person classes began to cloud my schedule. Under lockdown, my family spent days and nights hanging out in the backyard, barbecuing and laughing loudly, before we capped the night with rounds of pool. In homage to the California Spring Break shelved by the obvious, I burned a best of California Hip-Hop Mix CD to play on our old stereo that found new life in the pool room. As New York overcame the epicenter phase, the laid back qualities of spring carried into the summer and fall. Everyday felt like a celebration of life. People were out in parks and open spaces, roads were traffic free, and in my case, I was able to hold the people I love closer. I wish everyone could have experienced the “new normal” as I did - with their own sense of peace. Don’t get me wrong, I have loved ones who no longer walk this earth because of the pandemic, and myself and my entire family experienced onset and lingering side effects from both the vaccine and the coronavirus. I do not think I would have survived contracting COVID as I did in May 2022 if I was not vaccinated. I look back at my lockdown experience so fondly because I choose to focus on the joyous moments in the midst of global tragedy. Perspective is key. Perhaps I was forsaken the “true college experience”. I know for sure I was afraid of COVID. I only stoped wearing my N95s after having them for 12 hours straight while coughing phlegm from the virus. I feel a sense of sorrow and shame when people tell me the lockdown screwed them mentally; regardless of whether or not they lost someone. But what did I get out of the pandemic? A furnished room, an unbroken streak of Straight A’s, an endless summer with those close to me - and at what cost? I’m still the same shoddy pool player after three years of practice. What the lockdown gave me, more than anything, was the one thing that is unequivocally fleeting in this life: time. Maybe in hindsight, those revelers on the Great Lawn had the right idea.
• 
  April 19, 2020

  CSI Class of 2020

  "Finally the thoughts of what my graduation were real. What it would look like, what I would wear, and who i would invite. The joy I felt thinking about the thought of graduation in May; has been replaced with uncertainty. Myself and another class mate walked the campus although it were closed to find lingering students and faculty to complete information for our capstone project, not knowing that what we thought would be a temporary shut down became more permanent. The feeling of despair is an understatement because I returned to school after almost 20 yrs to finish my degree only to be deprived of the feelings you get from accomplishing everything that's required to graduate. All I can do as for now is stay safe so when that alternate graduation date is set, I'm a part of it. You won't take my accomplishment from me Covid!"
• 2021-06-12

  Graduation: A celebration or just another day?

  A long and hot three hour and forty five minute drive to San Luis Obispo was halted short of the two hour mark for a very important celebration. Was it really a time of celebration though? Some could argue that the mood and the hot weather of a summer June 12 afternoon in 2021 was just another day. After the strike of the pandemic, online instruction skyrocketed around the state of California. Other California State schools, resorted to their spring commencement to be online, our school was no different. We stopped our car at a local 76 gas station just off the side of the freeway to celebrate my virtual graduation from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. My mom pulled up in the parking lot where next to the 76 gas station was a McDonald's with free Wifi which allowed for us to connect to the Zoom meeting. We waited as name after name from the History Department was called, in which you could hear the only the applause and cheers of close family for fellow graduates called before me. The quiet tension in the car while waiting for my name to be called was very obvious in the car. There was no excitement at all. Just another normal day in the hot June sun. Finally, my name was called upon. A description of my goals and my final senior project were mentioned in the ceremony in my honor. All while the bustling of cars, the smell of fast food and the barking and crying of young kids and dogs lingered in the background of the car. My family applauded clapping and crying out my name. Seconds later, the next name was read and I logged off zoom, placed my cap to the side and we continued our drive to San Luis Obispo. Apart of me wondered that day we drove away from the gas station what a true graduation may have felt like, may have sounded like without these troubling times.
• 
  2020-06-11

  Effects of Covid in 2020

  I started college to attain my Bachelors degree in 2014, despite setbacks and working a number of part time jobs along the way I successfully graduated in 2020. Unfortunately 3 months into my final semester the world was put on pause In a way. Everyone across the world was asked to quarantine, to limit physical contact, and not gather in large crowds. Years of yearning for the recognition of graduating in front of my friends and family as I walked across the stage to get my diploma became a mere dream in my head. My graduation took place digitally and while I am grateful for the recognition and fully aware of the circumstance the world was under, it is still something I wish I had experienced in my life. The pandemic put many events on hold but I surely wish the events that transpired weren't so poorly timed and that I experienced the recognition of graduating in pre pandemic era.
• 
  2020-07

  Apparently I Have Opinions About Hand Sanitizer Now?

  I graduated with my bachelor's degree in April 2020, shortly after my state began heavy COVID-19 shut downs. The plans I had for my career took an unexpected pause. After several months, I finally found work at a local convenience store as a cashier. To accommodate heightened concerns about hygiene and sanitation, we had several bottles of hand sanitizer set up around the checkout areas for both customers and employees. I didn't know how different hand sanitizer brands could be. I suspect that the sudden demand for it during the pandemic must have led to cheaper, lower quality versions being distributed more widely, but our hand sanitizer was the worst. If you pressed the lid of the bottle, you would suddenly find your hands full of a large, unwieldy blob of what felt like elmer's glue and smelled somewhere between a rotten banana and a doctor's office. Try as you might to rub it away, you would inevitable be left with sticky residue all over your hands until you washed them. I guess in that sense it was an effective sanitizer in that it probably made a lot of people actually wash their hands. I no longer work at the gas station, but every time I think of that first COVID summer and that job that I was both so thankful and a little disappointed to have, I think of the feeling of that hand sanitizer.
• 
  2020-06-05

  A Covid Graduation

  I’ve submitted two pictures from my high school graduation. Many 2020 seniors didn’t get to have graduation, I was fortunate enough that my school had one.
• 
  2020-05-02

  Graduated but not Graduating

  The screenshot is a cancellation email from graduation services letting us know that our graduation was being postponed, ultimately it was canceled altogether. Like many, I also lost the opportunity to walk across the stage after completing my undergraduate degree in the spring of 2020. Really it wasn’t until I found out that the graduation was canceled that I realized how much the graduation had meant to me. Before, I thought “It's just a piece of paper, who cares if you walk across the stage to get it.” It's more than that, for many it’s a transition from academia to the workforce, a real transition in life that is captured in a moment. For me, it was a little different as it was more of capturing a moment of hard work and dedication as I completed my degree while having a full-time job in the military. Also, I was the first person in my family to complete a college degree. Not graduating doesn’t erase these accomplishments, but it does alter the celebration of the accomplishments. The pandemic changed what was considered “normal.” We can see this as graduations later in the pandemic shifted to virtual graduations accomplished over Zoom or Skype. Obviously, this is not the same experience by a long shot, but I do think that it is still important to capture these big life moments in some way. I am writing this in March 2022, the pandemic has tapered off and I hope that this spring/summer people have the opportunity to experience a real graduation!
• 
  2021-05-24

  A Glimpse of Masked Goodbyes

  Ever since I was a kid, I waited for the day I would get to walk across the stage inside a huge stadium to receive my diploma, with my family and friends watching. That day did not turn out quite as expected. My senior year began in August of 2020, during the height of COVID. No one knew when or if we would be going back to school in person. We lost football games, homecoming, the senior trip, and almost two semesters of getting to spend time in class with friends. We missed out on finally being a senior. All we could hope for was to be able to have more than a drive-thru graduation. Our class was lucky enough to be able to go back to school for a few months and we got to have an in-person graduation on the football field. Even though there were only just under 200 students per day over the course of our 4-day graduation ceremonies, it was definitely an experience I will never forget. I was grateful that I got to walk across that stage with my family watching. I was grateful that I got to watch my friends who I have known for years, and with who I began this journey, get their diplomas as well. This photo encapsulates the moment that we had officially graduated. As we went in for a masked-up embrace, I thought about so much I had to go through to get to that moment. All of the highs, lows, long nights up studying, fun school events, losing friends who were near and dear to my heart, and making it through what is supposed to be the best year of high school during a worldwide pandemic. It was a bittersweet moment, marking the end of one journey, but the start of the next. I do not know what the future holds, but I hope to never have to experience more masked goodbyes.
• 
  2020-11-01

  Informal Graduation Congratulations – HIST30060

  With the cancellation of mass gatherings during the lockdown periods, many university students completing their final semester were sadly unable to attend their formal graduation ceremonies. This photograph, taken in November 2020, shows a congratulatory card and gift which were given to a friend after completing her Bachelor of Agriculture degree. University is a difficult time, and was made even more difficult by the unprecedented pandemic regulations. While very different from the traditional formalities, we still wanted to add a bit of excitement with this token of our appreciation. Small gestures such as this are an example of the innovation and creativity which many had to utilise, once denied access to many regular systems. Furthermore, it represents the importance of reaching out to friends and family whilst in isolation. Something as simple as a card acts as a reminder that there are people who support, care about and are proud of them. HIST30060.
• 
  2020-04-09

  Grieving Rituals Lost to COVID-19

  Rituals are an important way to celebrate special occasions and victories as well as to deal with the stresses of life. This article discusses the grieving process people have gone through because of the loss of rituals (graduations, funerals, weddings) during the pandemic and the importance of creating new rituals.
• 
  2020-09-19

  PHOTOS: How The World Is Reinventing Rituals

  This article captures images of the continuations of and changes in rituals around the globe during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-05-22

  To Celebrate

  I worked in the high school settings in 2020 when the lockdowns and social distancing were put into effect. For the Class of 2020, the unknown of what will happen and what could happen seemed to weigh heavy on the young adults I taught. However, they also saw many milestones of teenage life suddenly uprooted as proms, end of the year events such as dance recitals, plays, and senior trips were postponed indefinitely and, in many cases, canceled. However, graduation had to happen, and administrations and staff scrambled to figure out how to celebrate the accomplishments of 13 years of schooling (including kindergarten) for their students. In any other year, students would file onto the grass of their home football field one last time, or in an auditorium, if the school graduating class was too large for the field, to the tune of Pop and Circumstance either played by the band or prerecorded; while families surrounded them in the stands cheering, applauding, and blowing air horns, and holding hand-made signs of support, congratulatory nylon balloons of the class year; and flowers and plushies for the end of the night. However, for the class of 2020 many classes held drive-thru graduations. Where lines of cars decorated with school colors and banners of the graduates’ names displayed on paper or painted directly unto the windows to show pride. Airhorns were replaced with car horns and Pomp and Circumstance was replaced with a DJ playing hits, or “bangers” as students would inform me, of the day. The administration would hand the graduate a diploma and a quick snapshot was taken, and teachers were lined up in the parking lot honking and cheering congratulations to the students they never officially got to say goodbye from when the lockdown of “15 days to slow the spread” was at that point surpassing the two-month mark. But graduation did happen and we as teachers did get to celebrate the students, we worked so hard to be ready for the world. Though nothing could really prep them for the next year of lockdown. Fast forward to the class of 2021 and in the state of Arizona we were no longer in an optional shelter in place but “common sense” guidelines; and high school graduations could and would take place at schools that were able to implement social distancing. Most school employees were vaccinated, but masks were still required for anyone who participated in the ceremony and for those who were in the stands. Chairs were spaced out 6-to-8 feet apart, but students were back on their home field her one last time processing once again to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance. However, attendance was limited to 4 tickets per student, an extraordinarily small amount considering parents and grandparents on both sides are six people, and that did not include: siblings; aunts; uncles; cousins; and friends from other schools. Handmade signs, balloons, and airhorns also returned, though limited, students were still happy that “normal” was returning which to them was marking the end of the pandemic.
• 
  2021-05-22

  The Surprise Degree

  When I first began my MA program in Fall 2019, I thought it would be really, really funny to not tell anyone I was pursuing a second Master’s. I figured at some point, I would slip and end up mentioning it. But instead, all our lives changed with the pandemic, and since I didn’t see a person besides the four people I live with for almost 13 months, anyone discovering my graduate program was no longer even a consideration. The MA program actually helped me keep my sanity. In those first couple of months, when everything was up in the air, my courses were a constant. And then in the mundane of quarantine, they challenged my mind, distracted me, giving me something to do. Who knew the random genealogy class I took last summer would lead me to discover 1. that my biological great great grandfather died when my great grampa was only 9 2. that no one in our family knew this and assumed his step dad was his dad 3. that this mysterious biological great great grandfather was not a poor wheel maker from Germany, but was a salesman involved in some suspicious activities that involved a sister being sold (national news! In all the papers of the 1890s), a robbery and attack on him (with the ominous newspaper title “will it be murder” because he was presumed to not survive... he did), and ended with his dramatic suicide when the police were attempting to arrest him for embezzlement ... in front of my nine year old great grampa?!? How strange to think that without quarantine I would never have taken the time to research this (this investigation took over three months!) and my family would still think our ancestry on that side were German wheel makers who fled the Kaiser! When I finished my MA last month, we thought it would be funny to do a photo shoot (never did that for my other degrees) and post it on Instagram. I cannot believe the amount of comments. People were over the moon excited. I think seeing any positive surprise coming out the pandemic gives people hope. And my weird idea that it would be really funny to not tell anyone? Yeah, it was. No regrets.
• 
  2020-12-11

  Flagler College Graduation

  Flagler College had a socially distant graduation in the St. Augustine Amphitheater. Masks were required and graduates did not shake hands when they received their diploma. Each student was allowed two guests and had to enter a lottery to try and win extra tickets. There were two ceremonies, one for the Spring graduates of 2020 and the other for the winter graduates of 2020 on December 11th 2020.
• 
  2020-06

  Some Graduation Memes and Photos During the Coronavirus Time

  Graduations during 2020 were conducted remotely. This meant that the students missed out on an important and memorable ceremony to mark this milestone in their lives. All ages were affected. The students were mostly home, and some had videos either as a live feed or prerecorded. Families tried their best to make the occassion memorable for their kids. Some schoolz had car parades for their graduates to "march" in front of their school or neighbors.
• 2020-03-20

  The Start of a Shutdown

  The date was March 20th, 2020. It was my best friend's birthday. Our friend group was preparing to throw a big party for her with lots of guests and food. We were all so excited for her to turn 18, finally able to vote. We were all also happy to be seniors and were looking forward to graduation and prom. March 20th will be forever cemented in my mind as the day it all went wrong. We found out that "Covid-19" was truly something very serious and our classes became virtual, no more seeing our friends in school. We couldn't have an in person birthday party for our friend, we couldn't hang out either. That day was so pivotal in all of our lives. We didn't know we would be stuck in quarantine for the next six months, we didn't know our graduation and prom would be canceled. We didn't know how much our daily lives would change. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to the pre-covid days. Everything seemed so simple then. No major pandemic, no masks, no overfull hospitals. But at the same time, as I reflect, quarantine has changed who I am as a person and has caused a lot of internal reflection and introspection. I feel like having to only see your family for six months makes you a better problem solver because you have to stay in the house and figure the issues out instead of going out and trying to brush it off. Overall, Covid is horrible and has caused so much loss. However, we need to also see the somehow positives that have come from this awful situation.
• 
  2021-01-14T18:43:30

  The Sounds, Smells, and Experiences of a COVID Graduation

  As the year 2020 ushered in my family and I had many events we were looking forward to, one event was my son’s high-school graduation. Once COVID hit his ceremony got postponed, and then it was turned into a drive-thru graduation ceremony. I felt happy my son’s graduation ceremony was still happening, but sad for both my son and me too. Since, my son would miss out on the traditional aspects of a high-school graduation ceremony, and I felt sad for myself because I did not get to attend my own high-school graduation; so it had meant a lot to me to see him experience what I did not get to at a traditional high-school graduation ceremony. On the day of my son’s drive-thru graduation ceremony, I was driving and my hands were dry and slippery from the hand sanitizer, I constantly put on for protection from COVID, both factors therefore made it hard to focus totally on the visuals of the event; and also impacted my ability to get a lot of video and pictures at the event. These circumstances I feel made me fixate on all the sounds and smells just as much as the visuals in front of me while experiencing the graduation. While waiting in the car line to get to the graduation stage the graduation speeches were streamed from a local radio station. The speeches I heard given by chosen student speakers referenced at times the sadness they felt due to the senior events cancelled due to COVID. When usually speakers at graduations express sadness, but the class of 2020 had a unique sadness and that is the effects COVID had on their senior year. As my son and I approached the commencement stage we both put our masks on, the smells of my car were replaced by the stale air I breathed within my mask that I had become all too familiar with since the start of COVID. My son got out of the car to walk across the commencement stage. The sounds I heard from the car were kind of distant, and made me feel like I was watching the ceremony from a different location. At the end of the day, while watching my son walk across the graduation stage, all my feelings and different observations before the event subsided and I felt nothing but proud of my son. Along with I felt grateful for the people who put together the graduation, for some of the unique sensory experiences I may not have focused on as much in pre-COVID times, and for the event since it could have been canceled because of COVID. If anything COVID implications provided many unique aspects to my son’s graduation ceremony that may come to give more meaning to it in the long run then a traditional graduation ceremony. The video clip I submitted is one of a few captured memories I have of the graduation; and it’s an example of the distant sounds of the graduation I heard while viewing it from my car.
• 
  2017-10-16

  Jewish Melbourne: Jewish Women of Words - Lisa Farber

  This is an article by Lisa Farber, talking about her child finishing school in 2020, during the pandemic
• 
  11/20/2020

  Sofia Soto Oral History, 2020/11/20

  In this interview, I, Hailey, am interviewing Sofia about how she has handled stress before and after COVID. I ask her about how she's made adjustments to her coping mechanisms and how she is handling graduating during COVID and having been abroad during COVID as well. The COVID-19 pandemic uprooted a lot of our lives and our plans we had for the future. It is about making adjustments when necessary and learning to cope and be positive!
• 
  2020-11-19

  Father and Son Graduation Celebration

  It was the fall of 2019, and the celebration was on for graduation. Two Air Force Veterans are standing side-by-side for a father and son picture. This moment represents the sky is the limit, and the only thing to do is to move forward and continue with a masters program. Continuing with my higher education meant a continuation in life events for my dad. COVID-19 and his untimely death was not foreseen for the new year of 2020. This will always be a happy time of our lives.
• 2020-07-19

  COVID Graduation

  On March 13th, 2020, my school like many others got the shocking news that we would have to shut down for a few weeks. At first I remained positive and said to my friends, "It'll only be a few weeks". However, I was very wrong. As the months went on, the time was extended more and more and my school and I become more and more discouraged. When we heard the news that our graduation would be temporarily cancelled and we would not be going back to school, the grade was devastated. My friends and I all facetimed together and cried over all the hard work we had done that may culminate in an online graduation. Our principals and school board did however work extremely hard to be able to hold an outdoor socially distanced graduation. I was extremely excited by this news. No matter what it looked like my grade and I would be able to celebrate the end of high school all together. Our school set up chairs 6ft apart where we the students would sit with our parents on the turf. The day of the graduation was the hottest and day of the summer and the sun was blazing down on all of us. Our school provided us with umbrellas in our school colors, blue and white, and gave the students BHS masks. Our principal began the ceremony in the traditional way, starting with a speech then calling up our class president. Later our vice principals were called to the stage to start their speeches. About halfway into the speech, they started to sing a COVID themed rap to the song "Alexander Hamilton". It was definitely untraditional however, it was amazing and it was the talking point of the day. We all walked across the stage and picked up our diplomas from a table so there would be no contact with anyone else. Overall, our COVID graduation was such a fun day and even though it was different than usual, it was such a nice way to celebrate finishing high school during such a crazy year.
• 
  2020-11-07

  Graduation in 2020

  This is a meme about how COVID has affect the graduation of the class of 2020. As a member of the class of 2020, I can definitely relate to this. I was really looking forward to my high school graduation. Even though we had somewhat of a very small ceremony only a few members of our family could come and it wasn’t how I dreamed of it. A big reason we couldn’t have the normal ceremony was the cause of the rules and restrictions put in place by our government. Gatherings of a certain number were not allowed and masks had become mandatory because of our government.
• 
  2020-10-28

  My Sister Graduated Year 12 During a Pandemic

  My younger sister went through Year 12 (the last year of high school in Australia) in 2020. When she showed me her yearbook, most of the graduation quotes were either TikTok references, sarcastic remarks about being at home for most of their final year of school, or genuine amazement that they made it through a notoriously crazy year in an actually crazy year. Due to the tight restrictions in Victoria for most of 2020, this Year 12 cohort did not get to go to formal, dress up for sports carnivals, have an in-person graduation, or even enjoy the basic senior-year pleasure of having a microwave in the exclusive Year 12 common room. One of her friends summed it up quite well in her graduation yearbook statement – “that was nothing like High School Musical.”
• 
  2020-05-30

  Having a Graduation during a Pandemic

  COVID-19 impacted my senior year from the beginning and certainly still today. In my final year before college, students are given multiple opportunities that because of COVID, I was not able to do. To name some, my March of the Living trip got cancelled, my spring break trip with my friends got cancelled, the rest of my senior year got cancelled and put on Zoom, my graduation was very untraditional, etc. I attended Miami Country Day School for the last 12 years and I was so excited to get to walk and get my diploma in my own graduation. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, things were extremely different. At first, my school had decided to postpone graduation until December or COVID was not a huge impact to everyone's life. However, everyone fought and it resulted to an untraditional graduation. My school hosted for us a "drive-in" ceremony on the Barry University's campus. The ceremony was outside, everyone was social distanced, and the cars with family were lined up around the ceremony stage allowing my class to celebrate as a community. All families would honk for their friends and families. I say this ceremony was untraditional because everyone was able to decorate their cars with everything associated with their new school for the next 4+ years. I was extremely upset when I found out my graduation was going to be this way but it was by far one of the most special moments in my life. Even though I did not get the same graduation as everyone in the past years, I know that my high school did everything they could to make that moment extremely special because they know all the opportunities that we lost due to COVID-19.
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  2020-04-01

  Covid Graduation Meme

  I am submitting it because I thought it was a good meme that tells a lot not only about what is currently happening in the world but also peoples attitudes at the time.
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  2020-07-18

  A New Look From Graduates

  This picture resonated with me a little bit more than others I looked at because none of the kids in the pictures seem particularly happy. Most times graduation is the happiest day for a teen, but Covid-19 is making sure students are getting a shockingly different school experience this year.
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  2020-06-02

  Post Covid-era Graduation Seflie

  I liked this photo because it reminded me of my sister and her friends taking pictures after their graduations with their masks and diplomas like the girl depicted here is.
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  2020-05-21

  How COVID-19 Will Shape the Class of 2020 For the Rest of Their Lives

  Both my sister and my husband had 2020 graduations so I experienced them well firsthand. That being said, when I read this article I thought it was very well written, and that the stories in it were relatable and a good representation.
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  2020-06-03

  Final Day of Distance Learning

  My 6 year old finished her kindergarten year at home due to COVID 19. Her teacher put together a "yearbook" for her as well as a "class ring" and a gift. My daughter's first year of school was not what she nor I expected but her teacher was fantastic and made the best of it.
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  2020

  Inside and Outside, At Home, Spring 2020 Semester, Brooklyn

  This submission interweaves the personal and professional experiences of an associate professor in the Brooklyn College Library with references to events happening in the larger society during the months of the COVID-19 pandemic through early October 2020.
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  2020-10-21

  COVID Graduation

  Here’s a photo of my cousin I posted on Instagram. She just finished nursing school in Mexico. She’s a single mom, has a full time job and is graduating with honors today. I’m so happy for her finally living her dream. Like many around the world, COVID has affected her graduation.
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  2020-06

  Graduating in a Pandemic: St. Mary's University Hosts Diploma Pick Up

  The object is a post from St.Mary's University Linkedin account. The account posted pictures of seniors picking up their diplomas from campus. Amidst the first few months of COVID-19, many changes occurred, especially in academia's traditional spaces. A huge tradition and milestone for students was the spring 2020 graduation. Many Universities, including St.Mary's, held virtual commencement ceremonies that included words from faculty and a program that listed every graduate's name with their major and any awards or affiliations. To provide students their physical degrees, many schools mailed degrees to students, but St.Mary held an event where students and their families could come to campus and pick up their diploma. Hosting an event like this for students and their families was significant because not having a traditional graduation ceremony was a significant loss for those working towards walking the stage. St. Mary's University has a diverse student body of international and first-generation students. All students dream of walking on the stage to get the rewards of their hard work in college. This was not just a loss for students but also family members looking forward to a significant moment. To give students and their families the rewarding celebrity moment, St.Mary's staff and faculty hosted a diploma pickup with safety precautions.
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  2020-06-06

  Graduation Through the Virus

  In June of 2020, I graduated high school amidst a global pandemic. I attended St. Anthony High School, a private catholic high school in Long Beach, California. As a small school, myself and about 150 other senior students spent the months following quarantine procedures praying that we would get some sort of graduation to award and celebrate our hard work . After negotiating with the Arch Diocese of Los Angeles and adhering to the safety laws implemented by the governor, St. Anthony was able to provide a Baccalaureate Mass for their 2020 graduates in celebration of their four years of success, growth, and education. As one of those graduates, I was filled with immense gratitude to have been able to join with my friends and immediate family as I closed a chapter of my life, and stepped on to the next. St. Anthony High School was one of few high schools in the county to have been able to congregate in any way to celebrate the 2020 graduating seniors. Many schools had to divert to “drive by” graduations or even online ceremonies from home. With the amount of high school seniors we had, St. Anthony was able to host 4-5 different Baccalaureate Masses for the purposes of social distancing. This way, all seniors got the opportunity to wear their cap and gowns, dress from tassel to high heel, and experience what a graduation ceremony in the Catholic Church would be like. For this one day, the ability to come together and see many of my friends that I hadn’t seen for months brought so many emotions. There was much question prior to the mass as to whether we students would actually be able to get through with it. The safety of ourselves and the family’s of one another we’re of utmost importance, while our right to be acknowledged for our academic successes the past 4 years felt necessary. We 2020 graduating seniors of St. Anthony High School were so fortunate to be able to experience a graduation ceremony in the manner we were allowed.
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  2020-05-09

  Graduating in the Age of COVID-19

  I graduated from Texas A&M with my PhD in Anthropology in May 2020. The graduation was in early May. I had defended my dissertation in late January and was working as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M and as an instructor at Blinn College when the COVID-19 came to Texas in March 2020. My jobs went online for a month, then I was activated with the National Guard on 18April2020. In this photograph from early May, I am attending my remote graduation ceremony from my workspace at the Region 6 COIVD-19 Response headquarters in Houston, TX.
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  2020-05-17

  Graduation during Covid-19

  My sister has been working so hard for the past two years; late nights and difficult early morning labs. She earned the title nurse practitioner. The pandemic hit a few months before her graduation and she would work the front lines while taking the last push towards graduation. As expected her graduation was cancelled and she was mailed her practitioner license. My family and I thought that her hard work deserved a proper celebration so we planned a way for our family to get together but follow all the proper precautions. We saw those drive by celebrations and planned one of our own. My grandmother demanded to be apart of the crowd at home to be closer to her granddaughter and no could tell her any different. This is one of the pictures from the celebration.
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  2020-09-27

  The Student-Teacher Experience

  When COVID-19 hit, i was in my last semester of college. The semester was already overwhelming for me because I was juggling extra-curricular activities, two part time jobs and full time education. I was student teaching, but at the beginning of march, I kept telling myself I had more time to complete the requirements and that when things calmed down in May I would be able to complete my degree. I was wrong. At first we were home, having class discussions about the possibilities of things, we never imagined that we would not be back in schools. Accommodations were made for all the student teachers, regarding our exams and requirements. This should have made it easy to finish my degree on time, but with all the factors in place: documenting the work completed in-person, completing new assignments, completing certification exams, all to get a degree to begin teaching during COVID - Subconsciously I didn't want to do it. So I didn't. I knew I had an understanding professor who would give me an incomplete, and that was the excuse I needed to put off graduating. I hated my student teaching experience, I felt cheated and underprepared. I kept trying to think of was to do it over again, from the start with no extra things on my plate, but I couldn't. I need to finish the class as it was presented to me.
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  09/19/2020

  Katarzyna Kumor Oral History, 2020/09/19

  This interview was conducted and uploaded for the purposed of a class at Northeastern University centered around the study of pandemics. This interview goes a bit into the experiences of a college student during their last semester before graduation. It is focused largely on interning before graduation and transitioning from student to working adult.
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  09/20/2020

  Maria Simpson Oral History, 2020/09/20

  This interview is conducted by a college freshman who interviews another college freshman about her experiences during lockdown. It covers how she dealt with isolation, how her high school experience had changed, and all the emotions and nuances that came with this strange new COVID-19 reality.
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  2020-05-15

  University of Arizona Department of History Commencement Ceremony Program

  Because of the pandemic, in-person graduation ceremonies were cancelled. Instead the ceremonies were held over Zoom. This program outlines the video webinar order of events for the graduation ceremony.
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  2020-06-01

  Isolation Graduation

  All of my life I have been dreaming of graduation. As a little girl, I would try to imagine what I would wear, how I would walk across the stage (when I was younger, I wanted to catwalk across our auditorium stage like a model – now that would just be embarrassing), what I would say in my valedictorian speech to part with my friends and teachers… and when that moment for those daydreams finally came, it was nothing like I had originally planned. What was once a thrilling time for all of the “lasts” turned into a last Zoom call, the last time logging into my high school Office account, the last email sent by my favorite teacher, and a last assignment turned in virtually. Not a senior prom, not a final picnic, not a fun-filled “skip day” (unless you count the days since March 13th) … I am not upset, I am not bitter, and I certainly do not dwell on what could have been. I understand that this was for our safety, and I would rather sacrifice those events than put myself or the people I love in a place where we could become ill. The day of graduation finally came after all of these years of waiting. What my school planned was very innovative, and I would choose this over a normal graduation any day. We filmed the speeches of the valedictorian and salutatorian, each student walking across the stage to receive their diploma from their family, compiled the clips into a video, and played it at our local drive-in. It was personalized for each student in our class of just sixty students. There were fireworks, gifts, and snacks for everyone in our class. I am not one to reminisce on my high school days. I was the person in my class that just wanted to leave our small town for bigger things. However, I find myself welling up with tears writing this. What my high school did for our graduation was so considerate and accommodating for the world we now live in. There is even a YouTube video of our graduation, online forever, which would have never happened under normal circumstances. I attached a link to it – my speech starts at 31:20 if you are interested.
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  2020-06-15

  Graduation

  I graduated with my Masters during the pandemic. School was changed as we finished the semester online due to the quaruntine. Then all celebrations were canceled. Things were virtual. I found out I got a job that would bring me from AZ to MA and I would have to move before things got back to normal. I started a job remotely, and took graduation photos alone, without the pomp and circumstance. Then I had a social distanced party outside to celebrate both. Only a 10 people came to be safe, even though more were invited. Many did not feel comfortable to attend. It was what it was but definielty not the big party I had hoped for.
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  2020-08-21

  Graduation...with a twist

  This picture was taken seconds before I walked across the makeshift stage at graduation. With the sun glaring down and my name about to be called, it almost felt like a normal ceremony. Normal, save the distance between myself and everyone and the sinking feeling that I still couldn’t quite ignore. My last year of high school was anything but what I had imagined it would be. In certain ways, it felt as if I had missed out on what many take for granted. Instead of the final celebrations and traditions of a senior year, COVID-19 gave me an entirely new mindset. I saw the humility of the world, and also the faults we often ignore. I walked across that stage and into an uncertain future, one that I can only look towards optimistically.
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  2020-06-14

  A Distanced Graduation

  The image above shows the window of the Peaks Island Library, where the town celebrated their graduating seniors with a “Congrats class of 2020” sign. Surrounding the banner are the names of the high schools the students attended. Since the shutdown began just months before my class was set to graduate people all over the state have been putting up signs and decorations to give us a celebration. We had virtual commencement speeches, videos, lawn signs, balloons, and free pizzas that in a way made the year more special than a normal walk across the stage.
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  2020-06-20

  Making the Most of It

  This is my best friend and I taking graduation pictures. COVID-19 closed schools and cancelled senior events, and my best friend moved away. We made the most of it and she spent so much time with me. We filled each day with different celebrations or activities before college. I had to move away first, so we made the most of the time we had. That is what the COVID-19 pandemic has taught me. We need to live right now while following safety measures. It may not feel normal, but you will still have fun. Make the most out of it because there is no use in waiting for normalcy.
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  2020-08-12

  High School Graduation: Quarantine Style

  On August 12th, 2020, I graduated high school with my triplet siblings. In our twelve years of public education, never did the three of us imagine for our graduation to look like this. I remember attending my older sister's high school graduation in 2009 - I was a part of the crowd in the bleachers and there were lots of cheers and parties. It would have been a cool full circle moment to have her then attend our graduation from the same high school at the same bleachers, however, 2020 had different plans. Our graduation included no guests, no family, no teachers, we were spread apart across the football field, wearing masks in 90 degree heat, and received our diploma in rows. Although it wasn’t the graduation/end of senior year that we wanted, the strength of our community consistently shone through all obstacles the pandemic presented to us. The strong sense of unity and support the community gave the class of 2020 was truly inspiring and will one day be historical.
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  2020-06-04

  Pandemic Graduation

  I am a class of 2020 Senior. March 13th was my last day of Senior year and while I didn't know it yet it was the beginning to a worldwide pandemic that would make history. My high school felt so bad that my class didnt have a prom, senior bike ride, senior breakfast or graduation that we all got T-shirts as a keepsake.
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  2020-07-12

  Graduating during the pandemic

  This personal journal tells what is it like for me, graduating during the pandemic. With ways of celebrating this milestone totally changing, and with my mother having to work at the health center on that day, this virtual graduation experience was really different.
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  2020-06-13

  Dr. Anthony Fauci Gives Graduation Address to UC Irvine

  Dr. Anthony Fauci was the country's medical leader in the COVID-19 time. He stood by President Trump's side at the daily Coronavirus briefings and, along with Dr. Deborah Birx, alternately reassured the country and alarmed them. They were often shamed by Trump who tended to make light of the danger of the virus. They were the heroes that stood strong and displayed real leadership and knowledge. Since almost all graduation ceremonies were canceled for spring 2020, various VIPs tried to compensate by giving commencement addresses. Here is Dr. Fauci's.
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  2020-05-29

  Princeton High School Drive-In Graduation

  The fourteen graduates of Princeton High School’s Class of 2020 sit six feet apart as supporters watch the graduation ceremony from the confines of their cars. After months of coordinating distance learning efforts and planning for graduation amid ever-changing guidelines, there was an incredible sigh of relief knowing that this challenging school year was over. Although staff members and graduates alike were celebrating the end of a difficult journey, there is no denying the uncertainty as to what lays ahead. Graduates are entering adulthood at a time when the economic outlook is bleak, the college experience is altered, and the threat of illness is troublesome. Certainly, the academic response to COVID-19 will redefine education, proving just how irreplaceable physical classrooms and in-person interactions are to our students.
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  2020-05-29

  The Class of 2020

  This is a screen shot of a post shared by Dyami Thomas. She does not name the young man, but says he was unable to graduate because of Covid-19 so he took a photo in his cap and gown as the protests took place behind him. As a teacher, it has been incredibly difficult to watch my students struggle during what would have been the time of their lives, graduating and starting their next chapters. I just received news that several of my students lost their jobs and returned to work in the fields with their families because they needed the income. Some of my students are attending protests daily for BLM. I worry for them all, even this young man in the photo I have never met. They are experiencing the most turbulent year I have ever seen, and they embarking on their adult lives amidst the chaos.