At the Regional Sites

TTU Waco Celebrates Winter 2020 Graduates

By Delaney Moreno, Graduate Assistant

In 2020, plans, special days, group outings and more were put on the back burner. A trip to the grocery store became the main event of the week and wearing face masks everywhere became normal. People could not have realized how grateful they were for concerts, celebrations, and group activities until they no longer got to do them. A transitioning phase of life has been missed for most graduates across the country, but not for students at Texas Tech in Waco.

Students at Texas Tech in Waco held tightly to their opportunity to celebrate their success. They were given a socially distanced celebration, and the ones who attended were so excited to participate. For this group of students, this day was a day they will not ever forget.

Jeffrey Williams stumbled on the thought of this, but he doesn't regret participating at Texas Tech's main campus in Lubbock. "It was scary at first because I was unsure about walking during the coronavirus pandemic. It ended up being a great experience."

Not only did Jeffrey walk across the stage, but he also took part in the mini professional graduate photo session that the TTU campus in Waco offered. Academic advisor, Melissa Lohr, reflected on this event.

"Each student was given 10 minutes with our photographer who had props and poses planned out to make each session run smoothly; students could even bring up to four family members if they wanted," Lohr said. "After the session, the graduate received an alumni mug with some TTU swag as a graduation gift from the TTU Waco team. This event was so fun because we got to chat with the graduates individually, have fun taking both serious and goofy graduation pictures, and have an intimate celebration of our graduate's hard work! It was so personal and special. I really hope this is something we can offer to graduates in the future, even without it being our only option due to the pandemic."

Other students did not feel as comfortable attending. James Jensen did not think it was in his best interest to attend, "I look forward to attending the next one. I am very pleased that this option was available for me and my family," he said, thankfully. "Knowing that the option is there for all graduates seemed to be comforting for them, and hopeful for the future as well."

Seeing both sides of the spectrum of students' feelings about the pandemic, Lohr reflected on 2020 and everything that came with it.

"It's been amazing to see how resilient people can be, but it's still heartbreaking to know what's been taken. Graduation is such a significant celebration during any season of life, but I think during this pandemic it stood for much more. Graduation during a pandemic shows the students that their hard work meant something. It shows that students can be flexible and achieve even when other aspects of life seem to be working against them. The best part is, even with a mask on, you can just see the pride in students' faces as they come to terms with all that they've accomplished. The pandemic has taken much, but it hasn't taken the hard work these students put into their education."