From deciding the outfit we’ll wear to graduation to having to decide if it is safe to go to the grocery store, the COVID-19 virus pandemic has affected many individuals worldwide. This includes preventing thousands of high school and college students from being a part of a graduation ceremony.

Institutions statewide have canceled Spring 2020 graduations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and for the safety of their students and families. Many students, like myself, won’t have the experience of walking across the stage while their family cheers them on for making one of the biggest accomplishments of your life.

Nonetheless, many institutions and students haven’t let the COVID-19 pandemic stop them from celebrating this major accomplishment. Institutions like Missouri State University have rescheduled graduation ceremonies to the Fall 2020 semester allowing Spring 2020 graduates the opportunity to experience graduation. Some undergraduate programs have performed virtual graduations on online sites such as Zoom.

Lastly, students are continuing to take their graduation photos as memorabilia of these last four years. The class of 2020 is filled with strong and persistent students. We have shown the world that not only can we overcome four years of school but we can defeat a worldwide pandemic and come out stronger than we’ve ever been before.

~Trenell

(Trenell Morgan, the 2019-20 Family Assistant and a 2019 SOAR Leader, is a senior involved with Student Activities Council (After Hours Chair), University Ambassadors, and Xi Omicron Iota.)