A bittersweet semester
It is finals week here at CSC and also the last week for so many students graduating on Saturday. It is a bittersweet moment. So much has been accomplished, so much is going to be missed, and so much is still ahead. Even though most people parted ways halfway through the semester when everything got moved online many are now starting a new chapter in their life. Some are moving for graduate school, some have been accepted to jobs and countless other things are about to happen for CSC graduates.
For those of us graduating this has been a difficult time. Having a virtual graduation is less than desirable, not being able to see some of our professors and peers again, and not being able to finish the semester on campus. It has been a continuously disappointing semester. But from what I’ve seen and who I’ve talked to the graduating class of 2020 has made the most of it and have tried to personally grow from the experience. If there is anything that people will be talking about in regard to their senior year this year it will be how even though the world shut down and people were told to stay homes and stop doing their lives like they have been doing, the students didn’t stop. From what I saw students picked up new hobbies, started doing things they’ve been putting off, and still managed all their school on top of it. I’ve also talked to a handful of people that have been battling some of the toughest depression they’ve faced. Some are also facing bad anxiety.
There are so many of the students that have taken what has been thrown at them and battled with it for months and now are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a very tough year for everyone, but I want to recognize the students who have been silent in the shadows during this time. I am so happy this is the last week for some of these students because there’s a burden so close to being able to be removed from the backs of students. I am so happy to get to be apart of a graduating class that didn’t let a global pandemic get in their way of achieving their goals.
This is my last column I will be writing for The Eagle at CSC. I am so happy and grateful that I have been able to write for the newspaper for the last three years. I am thankful for the many opportunities I’ve been given at CSC. But I also want to say thank you to so many of the teachers and mentors I have had on campus and in the community. I couldn’t have picked a better place to get my undergrad degree. Above all though I want to thank the professors and staff in the English Department on campus. They are some of the most kind, hard-working, and caring professors on campus. They are always willing to help, and they want to see student succeed. They don’t get enough recognition for everything they do. I am proud to be an Eagle and always will be.
Good luck to every student doing finals. Good luck to the students graduating this coming weekend. Good luck to everyone in their future endeavors. Let’s go Eagles!