The Class of 2020: How COVID-19 Has Changed The Game

By Ariana Lobo 

“For those of you who feel invisible: Please know that your story matters. Your ideas matter. Your experiences matter. Your vision for what our world can and should be matters. So, don’t ever, ever let anyone tell you that you’re too angry, or that you should keep your mouth shut,” Michelle Obama to 2020s graduating class.

College graduation is a very special day. If you are one of the few fortunate enough to attend college, the actual completion of that journey is even more momentous and special. Family from all corners of the country often gather, large parties and events are thrown in celebration, and countless events are held on campus to both commemorate and prepare for that one special day. It’s a big deal.

So what does college graduation look like in 2020?

Almost every convention, tradition, or special event surrounding graduation has been completely altered or entirely canceled. The festivities surrounding the occasion are all but obsolete. In order to uphold proper social distancing procedures, universities had to move all graduation activities to a virtual platform. College students have witnessed a complete overhaul of hundred-year-long traditions that in the year 2020 – now no longer exist.

But the graduation ceremony is the least of the losses felt by the class of 2020. CNBC recently reported that “Since March, 38.6 million Americans have lost their jobs.” Even more frightening, the U.S. Department of Labor recently released their Bureau of Labor Statistics report for May that stated the U.S. unemployment rate is now at 13.3%.

For college students, finding your initial place and position within your field can be difficult but extremely necessary to establish a foothold. In today’s current market, graduating seniors are now facing the dissolution of entire industries. It is now becoming even harder to find that much-needed foothold when entire industries like hospitality and aerospace are dissolving in front of our eyes. Even more interesting, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers more than 1 in 5 of all employers rescinded their summer internship offers.

Statistics such as these can cause not only great anxiety but panic. Looking out into the world’s current job market can be daunting for anyone right now, but especially our graduating seniors. It has become difficult to find hope in our current situation, a situation that many experts say could last years into the future. In fact, according to the 2020 Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics survey of young Americans, only 8% (between the ages of 18 – 29) believe the government is working as it should be. Our young adults are not only losing hope but faith.

Yet in trying times such as these, we must rally our strengths and find hope in one another. Some of our age-old graduation traditions may have changed or our job markets may be struggling, but it does not mean that our spirits and our innovation goes with them. In fact, it is widely believed that Shakespeare wrote King Lear, (one of history’s most renowned pieces of theater and art), during the quarantine for the bubonic plague. History has shown us that sickness, unemployment, grief, and even loss are all a part of the story of our planet. But so is new life, job success, Spring, and laughter. Just as the famous Brene Brown quote states, “You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging. Imperfections are not inadequacies they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”