“In a strange way, I am comforted by the fact that I have friends walking through the exact same disappointment as me,” said Shelby Elkins. “It makes the weight of the whole situation a little more bearable.”
Elkins is a business major, and like most seniors, she has been looking forward to graduation for a very long time.
“I feel like it’s selfish of me to say that I am disappointed about graduation because things could be much much worse,” said Elkins.
Elkins is also a member of a sorority on campus and expressed to me how she has always looked forward to having her moment of being a senior.
“I have always wanted to have my senior pass-down and share with the chapter what they all mean to me, but now it’s looking like I will never see all of them at the same time ever again,” said Elkins. “To me, that is one of the hardest things to cope with because all of the girls in my sorority mean so much to me.”
Life after graduation has also created a sense of worry within Elkins because she is recently engaged. Although her wedding is months away, preparation for it has been put on hold.
“It is causing a lot of stress because at this point I don’t know if I will get everything done, let alone have my wedding the day I have planned,” said Elkins.
The word “unknown” can be felt across all of Union University’s campus, but especially among the graduating seniors. All of their “lasts” have been taken from them by what people are calling the “invisible enemy.” Internships have been cut short, Greek life and club events have been canceled and the last chance at being a kid has been stripped from them.
“For me, I don’t know if I will ever see my kids again,” said Kate Mascolo, a senior education major. “[But] I find comfort in knowing that nothing comes to me before passing through the Father’s hands first. I also know that I can’t see the bigger picture yet.”
My conversation with Mascolo was over a FaceTime call while she was in her car taking a break from packing up her dorm room.
“I have been in denial and refuse to process all of this,” Mascolo said with teary eyes. “I’m not ready for all of this to end. I feel like I will never get closure.”
As an education major, Mascolo also worries about the kids she has in her classroom.
“I worry about my kids all the time. I worry about them getting fed, I worry about their home life, I worry about my 3rd graders having to take care of younger siblings,” said Mascolo. “A lot of my students come to school to escape, but now they have no place to go for comfort.”
Mascolo is ready to move on to the next step in her life but is still wishing that her goodbyes didn’t have to come this soon.
“I would say to the incoming freshmen, don’t take this place for granted. Live out your college years to the best of your ability because, before you know it, this will all be over,” said Mascolo.
To the class of 2020, you are in the middle of making history. Be proud of that. You have been able to overcome something that no one has ever had to overcome before.
“I want the seniors to know that, although this is not what anyone wanted, this does not diminish the fact that we accomplished a hard thing,” Mascolo said. “College is a great achievement, and nothing can ever take that away from us.”