Dmytro Nayda

All things have an end.; regardless of good or bad, everything will end some day. For me, the thing ending is my life as a college undergrad. On December 19th, 2020, many students will graduate from Pennsylvania State University, from Abington campus and/or main campus.

But given the current pandemic we’re experiencing will it still feel the same? Personally for me, I think that graduation will be lack luster to say the least. I understand that safety is the top priority at the moment, but after four and a half years of hard work, a little something to show for it would be nice.

I understand that getting a diploma is what we have to show for all of our work, but I’m sure that many people would like to experience that emotional satisfaction of walking down the aisle. After many hours of stress induced sleepless nights over assignments, and for some people, the tears that they cried from anxiety over finals, a little bit of closure could have gone a long way, I for sure felt that way.

Lets take it back to June of 2016. I am a high school senior just waiting, shaking with excitement to walk down the aisle, remembering how I felt over previous assignments, remembering the people who doubted me, remembering the fear I had over what the future holds for me, and most importantly remembering the amount of time I put into my work to get to this day.

Finally the moment had arrived, the graduation theme played, and the MaST class of 2016 had begun its walk down the aisle.

We had all taken our designated seats and I eagerly awaited the moment our section was supposed to rise and approach the stage. The first 8 students got up, then the next 8, and so on and so on, and then it was my turn. Our group of 8 stood up and we approached the stage. Four people in front of me and three people behind me. I was only a couple minutes away from wrapping up my high school days.

The first of our group is announced, then the second, the third, and the fourth. I was up next, and the culmination of four years was about to come to an end. And finally I heard it “Dmytro Nayda.” I took a deep breath and began to walk forward.

I took hold of my diploma while shaking hands with the CEO of MaST. I shake hands with the principal afterwards and I hear the clapping. I look to where my family was sitting, but now they are standing. At that moment I felt like I could do anything. Even taking pictures and saying the last goodbyes to some friends who were moving away felt surreal.

High school graduation was a moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life. But flash forward to today. What are we left with for graduation, a ceremony that will be held online where none of those emotions we felt back then will be present. That bittersweet feel of leaving behind your fun past experiences and moving forward into the future.

It seems college students all around feel the same way. I asked Taras Bukachevskyy about how he felt not experiencing an in-person graduation, and he replied with “It’s stupid, we pay all this money for school and we cant even finish properly. I paid thousands of dollars for a paper that I can’t even read!”

I’m certain that some form of in-person graduation could have been held. Penn State offered free COVID tests for those who were randomly selected by the university. Why could they not offer those tests for those who are graduating so they could walk the aisle safely. It’s unfortunate that everything will be online. There will always be a part of life that feels like it will always be left unfinished.