As my daughter graduates from WSU, here’s what I hope the pandemic has taught her
Strolling around the Wichita State University campus during orientation four years ago, snapping photos of sculptures and trying to find Jardine Hall, my daughter and I talked about the day she would walk across the stage and get her diploma.
The year 2020 seemed far away, but the vision was clear: Caps and gowns and smiling faces. Far-away family members in town for the ceremony. A party with lots of hugs — and a real popcorn machine — to celebrate Hannah’s achievement and her entree into adult life.
Then COVID-19 happened.
Back in March, WSU students learned via email that classes were moving online for the rest of the semester and that commencement ceremonies were postponed.
On Saturday my family will hop online to see Hannah graduate as part of WSU’s virtual commencement celebration. It’s a consolation prize, but a fitting finale to a college experience — and a particularly memorable final semester — that has taught my daughter and her classmates much more than they may have learned in class.
For starters:
▪ Things don’t always go as planned. “The measure of intelligence,” Albert Einstein said, “is the ability to change,” and this pandemic has provided ample opportunities to practice adjusting, adapting and rethinking.
▪ It takes a village. Doctors, nurses, and first responders are essential — but so are grocery store workers, delivery drivers, truckers, postal workers and many others. The coronavirus makes us feel vulnerable, but it also makes us realize how dependent we are on one another.
▪ We’re more alike than different. The pandemic has shown that despite differences in race, religion, ethnicity or income, at a purely biological level, human beings are the same. That’s a lesson that, similar to a great college education, fuses science and liberal arts, and it’s one we’d do well to remember into the future.
▪ Survival requires empathy. Like any virus, COVID-19 defies political and geographic boundaries, so battling it has required cooperation on a global scale. There’s no time for intolerance or “us versus them” ideologies.
▪ Learn to cook. Even before the pandemic, Hannah had embraced her Instant Pot and was becoming a meal-planning pro. These past few weeks, though, as dining options dwindled and some groceries got hard to find, her kitchen prowess surged. So I’m not sure what’s more impressive — her cum-laude GPA or her root beer pulled pork.
▪ When in doubt, show compassion. It’s hard being a senior during COVID-19. Milestone celebrations have been pushed aside, and there’s a legitimate feeling of unease for the future. But following Hannah’s social media lately, I’ve marveled at her ability to think positively. (There are womp-womp cancellation complaints — it’s Generation Z, after all — but there’s also #SpiritBoostWednesday and “Be kind today.”)
Graduation will look different this year. Hannah and I have adopted a socially distant “virtual hug” that looks something like Black Panther’s “Wakanda Forever.” But nothing will diminish the accomplishments of this class of 2020.
May their futures be as memorable as their senior year.
