{"id":9321,"date":"2021-03-07T19:09:39","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T00:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/?p=9321"},"modified":"2022-03-04T17:15:08","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T22:15:08","slug":"class-of-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/class-of-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

During their final spring semester, Hollins seniors hardly come up for air.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

By Beth JoJack ’98<\/p>\n

Hundredth Night. The spring theatre production. One last proofread of that honors thesis. Spring Cotillion. A final trip downtown for a slice at Benny Marconi\u2019s. The Senior Banquet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, the 162 members of the class of 2020 didn\u2019t get to experience that cyclone of celebrations and goodbyes. Their college careers ended abruptly March 20 when Interim President Nancy Oliver Gray announced classes would be held online for the remainder of the semester to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Commencement had to be postponed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the students returned to their homes to weather the pandemic, it quickly became apparent that their post-Hollins lives might take a different shape than they\u2019d spent four years envisioning. All across the country, governors imposed COVID-19 restrictions, shutting down some businesses and banning public gatherings. The coronavirus crisis prompted an economic downturn which left the country with 20.5 million unemployed Americans in April 2020\u2014a rate of unemployment not seen since the Great Depression.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A handful of members of the class of 2020 talked about what it was like to graduate from college during such a turbulent year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning to breathe\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Nya Monroe had big plans for after graduation\u2014plans that required a mouse-ear headband. \u201cI am probably Disney\u2019s biggest fanatic,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nya

Monroe<\/p><\/div>\n

Monroe, who majored in creative writing with concentrations in creative writing and multicultural U.S. literature, had signed up to enter the Disney College Program, a five- to seven-month program for college students and recent graduates who want to work at the park, complete some coursework, and live on a Disney campus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t accept everybody,\u201d Monroe says. \u201cYou can only imagine how many people apply. I was fortunate to be one of the few people granted the chance to work with them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not long after Hollins transitioned to online classes, Monroe received an email explaining the Disney program had shut down due to the virus. She shrugged off the sting. \u201cIt\u2019s a pandemic, so you expect things to fall through because it\u2019s unprecedented,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even after all these months of social distancing, Monroe remains determined to stay positive. \u201cHonestly,\u201d she says, \u201ceverything with this pandemic I\u2019m taking as a blessing in disguise.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a college student, Monroe maintained a meticulous, color-coded planner. \u201cI am very set on what I have planned,\u201d she says. \u201cEverything has an order to me.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pandemic forced Monroe to take her intensity down a notch. \u201cI\u2019ve become more grounded, which is good for someone coming straight out of college because I feel like in school we\u2019re like chickens with our heads cut off because we\u2019re moving around really fast all the time,\u201d she says. \u201cI was able to relax and get a gauge on what I\u2019m interested in and what I want to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, what Monroe wants to do is to teach English online to elementary-age kids in China. Because of the time differences, Monroe begins teaching at 5:30 a.m. \u201cAs someone who designed their entire college schedule around not getting up before 10 a.m., it\u2019s a bit of a struggle,\u201d she admits. \u201cBut I enjoy it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, Monroe plans to spend the next few months thinking about what other avenues she might pursue with her career. \u201cI want to be open to every possibility,\u201d she says. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"divider\"<\/p>\n

No more normal?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u201cI haven\u2019t been able to find a job in my field,\u201d says Rowan Cloud, who majored in art history and psychology at Hollins.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She had hoped to go to work in one of Washington, D.C.\u2019s many museums after graduation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ava

Zechiel<\/p><\/div>\n

Instead, Cloud and her partner Ava Zechiel, also a member of Hollins\u2019 class of 2020, moved in with Cloud\u2019s family in Elkton, Maryland. A communication studies major at Hollins, Zechiel had hoped to work at a nonprofit after graduation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was nervous,\u201d Zechiel says about making the move. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect. I didn\u2019t know when anything would get back to normal, if that makes sense.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When state restrictions eased, allowing retail stores to open in May, Cloud went to work at a gift shop in nearby Chesapeake City, where she\u2019d worked, off and on, since her sophomore year in high school.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In June, a member of the Chesapeake City District Civic Association approached Cloud with an invitation. A woman who\u2019d been active in their group had recently died. She\u2019d spent years collecting items to include in a museum celebrating the city\u2019s history. Would Cloud be willing to help turn the woman\u2019s dream into a reality?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChesapeake City\u2019s history goes back hundreds of years,\u201d Cloud says. \u201cThere are a couple of books here and there about Chesapeake City, but nothing where you can walk in and actually learn about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cloud said yes and recruited Zechiel to help with archiving the hundreds of items already in the collection.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDid I think I would be opening a museum at the age of 21?\u201d says Zechiel. \u201cAm I ecstatic about it? Yes.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of September, the pair had to take a break from their efforts when Cloud\u2019s father contracted COVID-19 from a coworker. Both Cloud and her mother tested negative for the virus, but both felt sick. \u201cWe were lucky enough to have very mild symptoms,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Zechiel, fortunately, never tested positive and never experienced any symptoms. \u201cThank God she didn\u2019t get it,\u201d Cloud says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After quarantining at their house for about a month, the pair again began working with other volunteers to archive items and raise funds for the new museum. The group hopes to open the museum in May. \u201cIt\u2019s really slow, but we\u2019re getting it done,\u201d Cloud says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While both women have enjoyed working to preserve the city\u2019s history, they feel like their lives have been put on pause. \u201cNothing is back to normal, and we\u2019re this far out,\u201d says Zechiel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love my hometown,\u201d Cloud says. \u201cBut it is time for me to move on to D.C.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"divider\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Dog days\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Grace Miller spent 2020 with the cutest possible traveling companions, ranging from the tiniest Pomeranian to a 150-pound mastiff to a kitten so fluffy she looked like a miniature cloud.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Grace

Miller<\/p><\/div>\n

Miller, who double majored in psychology and theatre at Hollins, decided to put her plans to get a master\u2019s degree in drama therapy on hold during the coronavirus crisis. Instead, she\u2019s helping her father run his pet transport business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA few weeks ago I went to North Dakota,\u201d says Miller, who lives in Woodbridge, Virginia. \u201cI\u2019ve been down to Texas, up to Maine, down to Florida, and everywhere in between.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The business, cheekily named Let Pop Do It!, took off during the pandemic. \u201cEveryone is stuck at home,\u201d Miller explains. \u201cThey all decided, \u2018I have six weeks to train a puppy or kitten.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t hurt that Miller\u2019s unconventional father recently blew up on TikTok (@ralphmilleriii), where he regularly showcases the cute animals he\u2019s transporting. \u201cBusiness has been booming,\u201d Miller says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For most of her work hours, Miller is in the car with the animals. When she does get out, she always wears a mask. She figures her work is safer than a lot of other jobs. Plus, it\u2019s fun.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI get to see a lot of cool places in the country,\u201d she says. \u201cI get to meet a lot of cute animals. Just last week we were dropping off a dog in Naples, Florida, and I got to see the sun set on the Gulf of Mexico, so that was really beautiful.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her favorite transports so far? Six St. Bernard puppies who needed to get from Kentucky to Pennsylvania. \u201cThey\u2019re just such little hams,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As much as she enjoys the work, Miller sees this as a temporary pit stop. \u201cI\u2019m planning on working for him until COVID-19 calms down, and I can do grad school the way I want to instead of doing it online or under COVID-19 restrictions,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Miller feels less sad about graduation being postponed than missing out on spending the last weeks at Hollins with her friends. \u201cWe thought we had so much more time, and we had so many things we wanted to do,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That said, Miller makes a point of not dwelling on what she lost. \u201cI feel like if I put too much energy into being negative about anything and everything, I\u2019m just going to end up bitter,\u201d she says. \u201cSo I\u2019m trying to keep a positive outlook. It\u2019s just hard sometimes when I\u2019m traveling around the country and I still see people without masks.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"divider\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Virtual learning\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

When Hollins closed the campus in March, Josepha \u201cEpa\u201d Cabrera returned home to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. She visited with her family until August, when Cabrera, who double majored in business and economics at Hollins, moved to Rhode Island, where she\u2019s now working toward a master\u2019s degree in public health at Brown University.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Epa

Cabrera<\/p><\/div>\n

So far, all of Cabrera\u2019s courses have been taught virtually. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m part of the program, but I also feel a little disconnected just because there\u2019s not that personal connection,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Classmates sometimes gather for socially distanced picnics, and Cabrera lives with two other students. Still, her days often seem to bleed into one another. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to just be on your computer the entire day,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cabrera is a Gates Millennium Scholar, which is a prestigious program that provides financial aid for undergraduate and graduate studies for promising students of color. Eventually, she plans to complete a Ph.D. in public health, but she\u2019ll probably take a few years off to work in the public health field after finishing her master\u2019s. Long term, Cabrera hopes to work as a global infectious disease analyst or a database administrator for global public health research.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been interesting, she says, to be studying the many factors that affect human health while watching the U.S. government battle COVID-19. \u201cPolitics has played a huge role in it,\u201d she says. \u201cI think COVID-19 could have definitely been handled in a different way.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"divider\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep going\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Kalyn Chapman wanted to begin climbing that career ladder after graduation. \u201cMy dream job would have been event planning for the big rodeos that go on across the country,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But then, COVID-19 prompted the world economy to plunge into recession. Chapman, who double majored in business finance and economics at Hollins, decided to return to the Wyoming ranch where she\u2019d worked the summer before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kalyn

Chapman<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI pretty much took people on trail rides,\u201d she says. \u201cI was 30 minutes outside of Yellowstone, so that was pretty cool.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Wyoming, Chapman could sort-of pretend the world was still normal, but that ended when she returned home to West Jefferson, North Carolina, at the end of the summer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in Wyoming,\u201d she says, \u201cthey\u2019re so rural there and spread out that I forgot about it sometimes. And then, coming back home, it was kind of like waking back up and seeing \u2018Oh, this is still going on.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chapman feels lucky she was able to find a job working remotely in billing for a multispecialty medical practice group. \u201cWorking in my pjs is always a plus,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That said, Chapman hopes to soon be able to move into a career in the event planning field. She\u2019s currently completing a remote internship with the National Western Stock Show, where she\u2019s helping stage a virtual art exhibit and sale. \u201cI\u2019m hoping the internship will lead to bigger things and be a gateway for my career,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Chapman acknowledges the year has been difficult, she also wants her Hollins classmates to keep their chins up.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people focus on the negative parts of what has happened,\u201d she says. \u201cBut we all did make it through it. And there\u2019s a way to keep trucking and see this thing to the end, even if life doesn\u2019t look exactly the same as it did when we started.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"divider\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Staying Positive\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Like a lot of members of Hollins\u2019 class of 2020, Victoria Trumbo goes out of her way to be positive when asked what it was like to see her college graduation postponed due to an unprecedented, worldwide pandemic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe bitterness\u2014and I say bitterness lightly\u2014was definitely not being able to have family around and really celebrate the journey that led me to graduation,\u201d says Trumbo, who majored in English with concentrations in creative writing and multicultural U.S. literature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A virtual offering, titled \u201cA Prelude to Commencement,\u201d made by Interim President Nancy Gray and members of the Hollins faculty and staff also helped ease the sting, Trumbo says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a joy to get the individual message from President Gray and to see my name scroll across the screen,\u201d Trumbo says. \u201cIt was still very fun even though, yes, I would have enjoyed the party celebration that would have happened in person, but it just gives me something even more wonderful to look forward to when it\u2019s safe to gather with family and friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Victoria

Trumbo<\/p><\/div>\n

Trumbo\u2019s journey toward earning her college diploma included a short detour.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After high school, the Broadway, Virginia, native attended Roanoke College for a year before dropping out. \u201cIt was not the right time, nor the right place for me to be pursuing an undergrad degree,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the next four years, Trumbo worked in retail and food service. Then, one day, she had an epiphany: \u201cI think I\u2019m ready to go to school.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a high school student, Trumbo had toured the Hollins campus. She decided to visit again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During her trip, Trumbo met with Mary Ellen Apgar \u201912, M.A.L.S. \u201919, then the director for the Horizon program. Apgar told Trumbo she would make a perfect fit in Hollins\u2019 Horizon program for adult women.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While it wasn\u2019t christened with the Horizon name until 1987, Hollins launched the program for nontraditional-age women who\u2019d put off obtaining their bachelor\u2019s degrees to work or raise a family back in 1974.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Horizon students get extra support from Hollins\u2019 faculty members and staff who understand the needs of students who\u2019ve taken a break from formal education. It\u2019s a symbiotic relationship, as the Hollins community also benefits from the perspectives of Horizon students who, over the years, have ranged in age from twentysomethings to senior citizens.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe experiences and thoughts and ideas they bring to the classroom really help to enrich the environment,\u201d says Patty O\u2019Toole, Hollins\u2019 vice president for student affairs and dean of students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Trumbo, being a part of the Horizon program meant she felt like she fit in from her first day on campus\u2014even if she was a few years older than many of her classmates. \u201cI had the great privilege of getting to know some absolutely wonderful human beings,\u201d she says of her Horizon compadres, who often hung out in Eastnor, the stately two-story brick house on campus where the program is housed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Horizon students all bring different experiences and backgrounds to Hollins, Trumbo says she and her peers in the program shared so much in common. \u201cIt was that aspect of it, the community aspect, that\u2019s probably one of my favorite things.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After working for a few months as the interim director for student engagement programs at Hollins, Trumbo moved to Pittsburgh in August to begin work toward a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Chatham University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe program is wonderful,\u201d Trumbo says. \u201cIt\u2019s similar to Hollins in that it\u2019s a very intimate, small cohort of students and faculty, which I love.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although classes have been held over Zoom, Trumbo, who wants to eventually write and teach at the college level, feels connected to the other students and her professors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe faculty have all been wonderful and so understanding that this semester is not like anything else we\u2019ve ever experienced,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beth JoJack \u201998 lives and writes in Roanoke.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During their final spring semester, Hollins seniors hardly come up for air.\u00a0 By Beth JoJack ’98 Hundredth Night. The spring theatre production. One last proofread of that honors thesis. Spring Cotillion. A final trip downtown for a slice at Benny […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[80],"class_list":["post-9321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-winter-2021"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9321"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9336,"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9321\/revisions\/9336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.糖心传媒.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}