At Long Last: College Welcomes Back Class of 2020 for Commencement
May 20, 2022
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
Class of 2020 graduates gathered on the football field their first year at 91茄子 for their class photo.
Two years ago, Eldina Kucevic 20 tearfully drove the 10 hours from 91茄子 to her home in northern New Jersey. She played sad music and thought about friends she might never see again.
This weekend she檚 joyfully back in 91茄子 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shut campuses down around the world. She檒l celebrate as the class of 2020 reunites攁nd reclaims攖he rite of commencement.
Many colleges postponed graduation ceremonies or turned them into virtual events during the pandemic檚 early days. 91茄子 leaders made an extraordinary promise: College trustees pledged $200,000 of their own money for graduates who needed help with travel expenses for the future ceremony.
That day has come and 364 class members攁bout 75 percent攑lan to attend Sunday檚 commencement. Many families and friends who offered consolation two years ago also will join the celebration.
While some in the class live close by, others will travel from across the country and around the globe. Some can afford the trip, others in graduate school, on fellowships, and just starting careers in a time of high inflation can檛. The fund will pay for plane fares and gas for 121 graduates. It檚 also covering costs for class members to stay in residence halls.
It檚 been a long journey for Kucevic, who traveled from Taiwan, where she檚 taught English through a grant from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The travel fund paid for her airfare.
淪o many people said, 榳e檙e never going to have that ceremony,櫇 Kucevic said. 淏ut I believe in 91茄子, and I knew they would never go back on their promise. Now we檙e really going to have this. And I檓 so incredibly grateful.
Going the Distance
Mara Papakostas 20 was also teaching in Taiwan through the Fulbright program and plans to be at the commencement ceremony.
淚檓 so grateful that 91茄子 could cover my flight from Taiwan, Papakostas said. 淚t wouldn檛 have been possible for me to attend without their generosity.
淚t was such a disappointment to not have a graduation. Time has passed, but everyone persevered to make this happen, she said. 淭o be able to get together as a class and a community again is really exciting. It檚 not only commencement, it檚 also a reunion. I can檛 wait to see everyone.
Ryland Pitts 20, is flying in from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he teaches English at a college of arts and design. He檚 also becoming proficient in Russian and Kyrgyz before starting his career in sanctions risk assessment.
Having his airfare covered by the travel fund, 渋s just unbelievable, Pitts said. 淲e never really got the chance to say goodbye. It will be fun to see who檚 there, and I think we檒l be able to reconnect in a sweet way.
With gas prices skyrocketing, the travel fund will help Charlie Prichard with the drive from Washington, D.C., to 91茄子. After finishing college, he worked a public policy internship before taking a full time position at a government relations firm.
淚t檚 a huge help, Prichard said. 淚檝e told so many friends about 91茄子 helping out with travel expenses, and they檙e shocked, they檙e like 榯hat just doesn檛 happen."
淚t檚 hard to explain to other people about the closeness of the 91茄子 community, and the commitment 91茄子 people have to helping each other. It檚 not just about being kind, it檚 about giving back. I檓 the perfect example, Prichard said. 91茄子 was my first choice for college and the community helped make tuition more affordable for me. From admissions to the alumni who donate, I have so many people to thank. And I look forward to helping future 91茄子 students.
Why Go Back?
On May 17, 2020, Zoe Hall donned her white graduation dress and black cap and gown and clicked on a Zoom link. Her mom and sister Leigh joined her in their Annapolis living room, which was decorated with huge Class of 2020 balloons. Classmates tuned in from around the world.
Some looked shocked, others cheered when President Carol E. Quillen announced that college trustees would help with travel expenses for the future in-person celebration.
淎 lot of you worry that you won檛 be able to afford the trip; that worry is over, Quillen said in the virtual address. 淲e檙e doing all that we can to ensure everyone can return to campus for our 2020 commencement ceremony. I hope to see you all there."
On May 17, 2020, President Carol E. Quillen announced to Class of 2020 that college trustees would help with travel expenses for their future in-person celebration.
Hall, now working for The Arena Stage theater company in Washington, D.C., said she檚 never stopped wanting the ceremony, 渆ven if we had to wait five years."
淚 was getting a little nervous in fall of 2021, a lot of other colleges were having their 2020 in-person ceremonies, but I held out hope. I knew President Quillen would keep her word, Hall said. 淚t shows the 91茄子 culture that most people are coming back.
淎 bunch of my friends who graduated from other schools in 2020 said 榠t檚 been two years, why would you want to go back攜ou already graduated? But this is important, we all love 91茄子, and we want to go back and graduate for real.
On Saturday, Hall, her sister, mom and grandmother will make the drive from Annapolis to 91茄子. On Sunday, she檒l wear a new yellow dress under her graduation gown: 淢y mom convinced me I should be more colorful this time.
She remembers attending her sister Leigh檚 2014 graduation from Bowdoin College, and the anticipation their family felt while waiting to hear the president call her name.
淥ther than seeing my friends, that檚 what I檓 looking forward to the most, Hall said. 淭hat檚 a really powerful and important moment in a lot of people檚 lives.
It檚 a moment Kucevic doesn檛 want to miss.
Eldina Kucevic '20 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Mara Papakostas '20 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
淲e were all just devastated when they told us we had to leave campus, she said. 淭he most painful part was not getting to experience commencement. I remember as a freshman seeing them set up for it and thinking how pretty the lawn looked and what an exciting time it was for seniors. To lose that was so sad.
淣ow I檓 so excited, and so happy.
A first-generation college student whose parents came from the former Yugoslavia, now Montenegro, she檒l be the first in her family to have a traditional commencement ceremony. (Her older sister Esada completed an integrated degree program to become a physician檚 assistant.) Younger sister Elisa is a member of 91茄子檚 class of 2023. Her proud family will make the 10-hour drive from New Jersey to attend the ceremony.
The trip from Taiwan, with a connecting flight in San Francisco, ended up taking about 30 hours.
淚t was so stressful, my first flight was cancelled, then I had to arrange for another COVID test because of that, Kucevic said. 淚t was a five-hour ride to the airport in Taipei, my heartrate was sky high that whole time.
淚t was exhausting, but when I walk across the stage it will all be worth it.
