College Graduation-COVID Style

For my undergraduate career, I attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and studied chemical engineering. During my time I was most proud of finding the time to do extracurricular activities in the midst of daunting assignments, whether it be playing sports or creating new programs on campus. Moreover, my favorite memory from college was learning how to ski with a group of my friends after a particularly hard week of class. 

Since the pandemic, things have definitely been more challenging from a senior’s perspective. Remote learning has been adequate but lacks a more personal experience and has caused me to have to halt my lab research that I have been conducting for the past year. Fortunately, I was able to celebrate graduation remotely, but I was disappointed to miss walking on the podium and receiving my diploma with my classmates. 

The major silver lining that I see has come out of school closure is people’s willingness to respond to emails and attend ZOOM meetings where they would usually not have the time. This has opened the door for me to not only get recommendations for grad school but also has allowed me to co-found a new engineering management fellowship, which pairs engineering management graduate students with student ventures on campus to help with project management and provide feedback based on technical competencies. 

After graduation, I will begin my coursework for my Master of Science in engineering management and will continue to develop my fellowship with various professors on campus. When quarantine is over, I am most looking forward to meeting with friends in person and having the chance to sit down one on one with the interviewers for the company’s that I am applying to. 

My advice for younger Nativity grads is that anything you set your mind to is possible, and when you inevitably face adversity in the future, think about is with a positive attitude and as an opportunity for you to grow and learn as opposed to a major setback.