The global pandemic of COVID-19 has hurt millions of lives around the world, but one group, the class of spring 2020, faces a unique set of challenges as they spend their last school year adapting to the changes.
Instead of walking on a stage as their family, friends, mentors and professors congratulate them on the milestone, the class of 2020 will be getting congratulated from their homes, online. Schools and universities around the U.S., including Arizona State University, have announced that graduation ceremonies will be held online this semester.
As the days of graduation slowly approach, the cohort is forced to graduate and navigate the job market while the economy crashes. The contact-to-contact disease has closed businesses, schools and public spaces. It has caused more than 10 million people to apply for unemployment benefits in the U.S. Although the class is faced with uncertainty, many remain hopeful.
Downtown Devil asked three seniors at ASU to share their thoughts and experiences about graduating during what some are calling a ‘hectic and scary time.’
Ryan Whitten, 22, majoring in electrical engineering
Ryan Whitten wasn’t planning on attending the larger senior commencement ceremony for all of ASU but planned on going to the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering graduation at the request of his family.
“Now we’re in a situation where that’s not really possible anymore, so I mostly feel bad for my family,” Whitten said.
He went to the graduation fair to buy his cap and gown and paid the registration fees. That’s money that he can’t get back now.
“A little over $100 was wasted basically, and I’m on a Pell Grant, so I don’t have a lot of money,” he said.
One of Whitten’s main frustrations, along with housing concerns, is what he believes to be a slow update from ASU about graduation and housing.
“I don’t exactly know what this extreme lack of urgency was fueled by. I don’t know if it was stupidity, greed– I don’t know the reasoning behind it,” he said.
He compared himself to graduating seniors during the economic crisis of 2008, saying he remembers a new segment of students graduating during that time.
“My immediate thought was, ‘Man, I’m sure glad I’m not graduating right now’ and now I’m in a situation quite similar to them. I’m graduating in a poor economic climate,” he said.
He said he is hesitant to move out of university housing because he’s worried about the potential health risks it could pose to his family.
He said he could live with his mother north of Tempe in a lower-risk area but decided it’s safer for him to remain where he is until stay-at-home restrictions are over.
“I’m not in a huge rush. I wouldn’t be super sad if I couldn’t get a job now, and I wouldn’t have financial stability for longer but it does suck. I don’t like it,” he said.
Giselle Torres, 21, majoring in theatre
Giselle Torres will be the first in her family to graduate from college.
“We’ve been waiting our whole lives for this moment,” Torres said.
She said she is confused about the virtual graduation and is unmotivated to do anything school-related, but wants to keep her grades up and still graduate. She added that she is concerned about her future after college due to the uncertainty of the job market.
“People might not be working in their fields,” she said.
She said seniors’ last memories of college are being taken away because of the pandemic.
“I’m glad for staying home and protecting my folks, but we’re still allowed to grieve over the little things,” she said about her family being unable to see her walk across the stage at graduation.
Torres’ words of advice for young people experiencing the pandemic are to ‘cherish the moment.’
“Life can be very unexpected. I was expecting to enjoy the mundane routine of going to school, but it just brings a deeper perspective of what to appreciate,” she said.
Luis Torres, 22, majoring in journalism
Luis Torres said his work may have been preparing him to fully enter the workforce, but couldn’t prepare him for the economic downturn COVID-19 has caused.
Torres has been working as a freelancer for Nice Kicks, a shoe enthusiast news outlet, for three years before getting hired as a part-time writer in January of this year.
He was planning on continuing his education by completing the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s master’s degree program after graduation. He said he was already in the 4+1 accelerated master’s program, which allows students to earn their master’s degrees in one year less than normal.
“Even with this now, is that even worth it? Should I just start working full-time? Or should I just get my master’s now?” he said.
He said he plans on moving to a more traditional beat reporting job if the job market continues to grow worse.
“If things get worse, I’m more than happy to just (accept) whatever pays and if I can use my degree, then so be it,” he said.
He said he is currently unsure if he will be attending the virtual graduation. He and his girlfriend are expecting their first child four days after Cronkite’s May 11 graduation ceremony.
“I know for me graduation was a bigger thing for my parents. I wasn’t really hot on graduation, just because personally my time at ASU wasn’t as enriching as I thought it’d be. For me, graduation’s like ‘Hey, I just want my diploma and then bounce,’” Torres said.
He said he has been saving up any spare cash to make it through August until another coronavirus update is made.
“I still have a decent amount of work to kind of live off for the time being, but I’m saving up for a worst-case scenario,” he said.
Contact the reporter at stlee9@asu.edu
