Commencement 2020: Harpur graduates confront a year of unexpected challenges
When Emily Jelen first sat down to write her Commencement speech in February, she expected that her peers would have a typical spring semester, full of the traditions that build lasting memories.
Senior year certainly proved memorable, but for reasons no one expected. The coronavirus pandemic sent classes online in March, postponed and then canceled the in-person Commencement ceremony, and finally sent it online six months later.
“Graduation is already a moment of transition and uncertainty; we have left the place we called home for four years and are venturing out into the ‘real world.’ And this year, this transition has been compounded tenfold,” said Jelen, whose recorded speech is featured in one of Harpur College’s four online Commencement ceremonies. “A global pandemic was not in anybody’s life plan.”
Harpur College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest school, with 2,565 students earning their bachelor’s and 169 earning graduate degrees or certificates in 2020. Due to its size, undergraduate and master’s degree recipients were invited to four online ceremonies on Dec. 14 and 15, with the groups determined alphabetically by students’ surnames. Doctoral candidates from all the University’s schools and colleges had a separate ceremony at 6 p.m. Dec. 13.
While the Class of 2020 can’t experience the traditional pomp and circumstance of Commencement, Interim Dean Celia Klin urged Harpur graduates to take time to reflect on their college experience and celebrate their achievements, from the strangers who became lifelong friends to the academic challenges that tested their mettle.
“Even with a pandemic, of all things, arriving just before you got to the finish line, you kept on,” she told graduates. “As you think back on your time here, all your struggles and all your victories, take a moment to recognize all the different ways you grew and changed. Maybe, just maybe, some of what you learned and some of the people you met will help you make sense of all the challenges we face today.”
Life lessons
Theater major Gabriel Pinciotti found it odd to deliver a graduation speech six months after he earned his degree. He came back to Harpur this fall to play the lead role in the Theatre Department’s adaptation of Macbeth, which had been canceled in the spring and aired live on Zoom the following semester.
While he discovered his love for theater in the 10th grade, he had to put his own acting career on hold due to the pandemic. He hopes to audition more in 2021 and start his professional life from there.
He observed that many young people are asking themselves “What is the point?” — a mindset aggravated by a world that has grown increasingly small due to lockdowns. To cope with these “tough and strange times,” he urged his peers to prioritize their physical and mental well-being, pursue the things that give purpose and meaning to their lives and connect with other people, even remotely.
“When things get tough out there, when things seem impossible and nothing seems to go your way, just remember: Find the people you love, do the things you love and love yourself. That’ll keep you going,” he said.
Natalia Jurek, a creative writing major, found inspiration from her favorite childhood film, The Lion King. She urged her classmates to remember the bonds they forged with one another, to trust their resilience when they face challenges and failures and, above all, to “remember who you are.”
An education minor and the daughter of immigrants, Jurek became a classroom assistant to New York State Teacher of the Year Rachel Murat during her time at Binghamton, and will pursue her master’s degree in teaching at Queens College. She plans to become a New York City school teacher.
“In the film, Rafiki says to Simba, Mufasa’s son, ‘The question is: Who are you?’ A simple but profound statement,” Jurek said in her speech. “Binghamton has helped us come closer to the answer to this introspective question.”
While some of her peers may already have landed jobs or spots in graduate programs, others may find themselves in a tough place: unemployed, or mourning the loss of loved ones due to COVID-19, said Jelen, a dual biological sciences and art history major who plans to pursue a PhD in art history.
In her First-year Research Immersion class, Jelen came across a surprising fact: the average person will change careers five to seven times during their lifetimes. While that statistic shocked her at the time, it also demonstrates the real-life importance of the many skills honed during the college experience, from cultural awareness and open-mindedness, to communication, creativity and more. Wherever your path may lead, she said, those skills will come in handy, both in the future and in the current moment of crisis.
“While this time will be remembered as one of great loss, it will also be remembered as one of immense kindness, solidarity and camaraderie,” she said. “Through this experience, we have learned what really matters in life and how we can best make the world a brighter place.”