Graduating College During The COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020
Sam Figura- Jun 28, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 15, 2024
January 8, 2020. It was my first day of winter term as an undergrad senior at the University of Oregon. It was also my 6-year anniversary with my beloved fiancée, Kaylee Condos. And on this day, I was working as an assistant stage manager and actor in A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen—a main-stage theatrical production at the U of O.
A couple of weeks after winter term had started, I learned about the novel coronavirus from news organizations on YouTube and apps through my phone. It wasn't long until I heard reports from professors, colleagues, and actors, all sharing their thoughts, concerns and anxieties. I remember my own early anxieties about COVID-19; many others like me had little knowledge about the virus at the time, since it was so new to the world. Will this be the start of the zombie apocalypse? Will this be the next bubonic plague? Or just a new version of the cold or flu?
By the end of winter term, I attained a better and more clear understanding of the coronavirus. The infection had already reached the US after the third week of winter term, and the first US death was reported near the end of February. The U of O announced before spring break that they will be switching to an 'online only' spring term. I was upset by this, especially since I was hired to be a light-board operator for the play Or Not to Be, a zombie version of Hamlet. I preferred in-person instruction and found it to be the most effective manner for my education. Knowing I had to spend my last term in college remotely was difficult to accept. Many understood the importance of a temporary shut-down, and eventually I did too, but it wasn't an easy step for me—I wanted to work in the theatre and go to school and the gym.
During the last week of A Doll's House, Oregon Governor Kate Brown started restricting audience sizes, and not only that, the last two performance nights were uncertain. For the last two performances of A Doll's House, I remember seeing crews with spray bottles and wearing masks, cleaning each seat in the auditorium before each show. Many individuals in the theatre, including myself, felt the real fear that performances would get cancelled altogether on one of those two final nights.
On the last night of performance, however, there was an announcement made by the stage manager: "No talk about COVID-19 at all." It was not to dismiss the reality of the situation, but as I understood it, it was an effort to finish A Doll's House on a good note and focus on the therapy of performance rather than everyone's already elevated perturbation. The upcoming spring term was stressful enough for students because they knew and heard talks of self-isolation in dorms, or the option of staying with their families, while many still had to pay their dorm leases. Of course, fellow colleagues working in the theatre were as cautious as possible. Regardless of the vexation, there were always efforts from theatre staff to stay professional and focused.
It was a successful winter term for me academically. We were able to finish A Doll's House without any cancellations.
I registered for four online classes that spring term: costume history, seminar fiction, intermediate poetry, and my final German class needed for my BA. I bought my books and school supplies and shipped them to my home.
Immediately in week one of spring term, I was swamped with homework and due dates. The difficulties with online classes included organizing due dates, scheduling online class sessions and meetings, and spacing out time to complete portfolios and projects. Most nights, I made to-do lists for the next day (sometimes the next few days). My schedule included my role in helping my family, my part-time job as a home care provider, and my at-home exercise program. Spring term of 2020 was one of the most difficult terms I faced in my college career. I wrote eight papers that term, each over 20 pages in length. I had so many other assignments, midterms, finals, and hardly any time to slack off. Many other students experienced the same challenges. Some nights, I would stay awake until 4:30 AM, waking at 8:30 AM for class, and finding myself napping throughout the daytime. I faced migraines, anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and sleeping issues. Staying at home with homework piling up day by day, finishing assignment after assignment, only made me feel trapped in my workspace. After those ten weeks of being strict on myself, however, and my professors doing their best to provide me with a high-quality education, I was able to earn three A's and a B that final term, graduating with a 3.90 GPA for all my years at the U of O.
My graduation ceremony was all online. It was significant to me because I knew the online method would protect many people from becoming sick. The UO estimated that the 2020 ceremony, if it were held at the Mathew Knight Arena as planned, would hold 38,000-41,000 spectators. That would further spread COVID-19. I believe graduating online was the best way to protect the lives, health, and the well-being of others.
The most frequent question I received when graduating the University of Oregon was: "How did it feel graduating college during the historic COVID-19 pandemic?" I wish there was no COVID-19 pandemic in the first place. I feel, however, that the University's response to COVID-19 by switching to online was the safest and best option to reduce and slow the spread of the virus and yet, still provide students a challenging educational setting.
It's worth mentioning that at the time of writing this blog, there are a total of 2,504,175 COVID-19 cases in the U.S., which resulted in 125,484 US deaths (latest numbers from the CDC as of 06/28/2020).
COVID-19 caused many changes for education, and I think the biggest one was switching to online modes of instruction (which involved layoffs to staff, tutors, teachers, etc.). COVID-19 popularized Zoom, manifesting online graduation ceremonies, and the cancellations of in-person school events (such as prom and sports), changing the cost of tuition, etc. According to Kathy McCarthy of ABC News, "More than 290 million students worldwide have been disrupted worldwide by COVID-19" (Web). To put that number in perspective, according to the United States Census Bureau, the current US population is: "328,238,523."
That is a lot of students affected by COVID-19.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in theatre arts and creative writing. Now that I'm graduated, I discovered that there are not many theatre or performance jobs available caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But I am motivated, optimistic, and I'm staying alert for creative work opportunities.
One way or another, I enjoy hard work and writing from home.
I look forward to crafting more fiction prose.
In order to help slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19, I encourage those reading this to adhere to the updated CDC guidelines. Wash your hands, wear a face mask in public, practice social distancing, and remember that staying home does save lives. According to the CDC, "The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person" (Web). I think that's rather obvious, but it's worth mentioning. The CDC even says that the virus can spread among people that show no symptoms.
I urge everyone to be cautious and think with safety in mind.
Thank you for doing your best to keep others safe. Thank you to all the doctors, nurses, and medical staff for saving lives and your perseverance and strength.
Citations/Links:
