The Class of Zoom: King’s Seniors and the Hardships of Graduating Amid a Pandemic

Graphic By Austin Dignan

The campus closure and move to online classes due to the novel Coronavirus was a difficult adjustment for most students — but it has been an especially trying time for King’s seniors.

“We all kinda feel like the rug got ripped out from underneath us,” said King’s senior Charis Franklin. 

Typically, the last semester of senior year is a time for students to look back on their college journey and celebrate their accomplishments together and in-person, but for the class of 2020 that victory lap has been cut short.

For many, the realization that they would not be returning to finish the year together was surreal.

“I don’t think I had any concrete initial reaction, everything just felt sort of fake,” said MCA major Sydney Watson. 

The suddenness of the development made it even harder to process, as fellow MCA major Haley Turner admitted, “We all left, and we all left on different notes...Nobody really was expecting to have to say goodbye.”  

As the initial disorientation faded, it was replaced with difficult reality: “Once I finally started to process the closure, it kinda felt like I entered the stages of grief—I wanted to deny that it was actually the case, to hope that the virus would be magically cured and everything would go back to normal,” admitted Humanities major Sarah Stettheimer. 

For many, the most difficult thing to deal with is the physical separation itself. 

“I feel like we’re just missing out on a lot of our final moments,” said Turner. “Like our chances to actually say goodbye, and celebrate together, and have that moment to cry, and be together in the same actual, physical space.” 

With the announcement of a virtual commencement ceremony, any faint hope of a normal sendoff for the class of 2020 disappeared. The loss of a proper graduation ceremony was just another drop in the quarantine bucket for some seniors, but for others the loss was more significant. 

“I think the thing that hit the hardest is not having a graduation. That’s something that meant a lot to me, and it meant a lot to my family. I’m a first generation college student, so it’s really, really upsetting that my college career kinda ends with a whimper,” said Sydney Watson. 

Despite her disappointment, Watson said she understood and supported the decision, but she wishes there had been a more transparent dialogue. 

“I think in general the big push back from all of the seniors is that they [The King’s College] didn’t ask for our opinions when it came to making any of the decisions regarding commencement, or anything having to do with our senior year,” Watson said.

On top of losing their final semester together because of COVID-19, seniors will now be graduating into a world of uncertainty. Before the pandemic, the economy was thriving and unemployment was steadily remaining under four percent. Now of course, the coronavirus and the many actions taken to slow its spread have caused massive economic damage. 

The economy that was booming just months ago, is suddenly predicted to be in its worst shape since the Great Depression. While it is difficult to forecast how quickly the economy might rebound once things open up, most projections indicate the current collapse will not disappear overnight. 

For seniors, this economic collapse means the next few years could be much more complicated than they were planning on. 

“We’re walking into a very dicey postgrad situation in terms of finding jobs,” Franklin said. 

The virus has generally affected densely populated areas the most, both in terms of economics and health. So for those who were intending to continue living in New York after graduating, there are understandable concerns. 

Stettheimer voiced this sense of uncertainty, “I don’t have a post-grad job lined up right now, but I’m hoping to stay in NYC, so the job search anxieties are pretty rough. Will I be able to find a job, much less a job I enjoy? What if I can’t find a job that allows me to pay rent? Where will I move to, what will I do?” 

Not every senior will face such immediate pressures, but even for those moving onto postgraduate programs or moving back home, things are more complicated than they would have hoped for. 

Turner, who is planning on pursuing further education at the University of Aberdeen next semester, said the virus has complicated her plans. 

“They've already pushed back our start date … the last thing you want when you already have four years of post-grad work ahead of you is to somehow extend that,” she added. 

Through all the trials of this semester and the looming anxieties of postgrad life, King’s seniors seem to have managed to remain hopeful. Several expressed gratitude for getting to spend quarantine with friends or family and also said that they have been able to find ways to stay connected to the King’s community despite the physical distance. 

These connections have come in varied and creative ways such as letters, JackBox game nights, and group FaceTime sessions.

“I think a silver lining I’ve noticed is how much compassion, creativity, and intentionality this has brought out in everyone,” Stettheimer said. “We’re all struggling through this together, but seeing the extent people have gone through to help others and maintain connection is honestly pretty heartwarming.”