Photo taken from the 2021 Seton Hill Commencement Ceremony
Written by: Sarah “S.J.” Hines
As graduation draws closer, students prepare for the next chapter of their lives. Senior Diana Farraj remarked “As a COVID-19 postgraduate, it’s been a very gratifying time from going to classes to spending time with people that were once only behind a screen…That would’ve never happened if we spent all our time on Zoom. I’m really happy with the connections I made. I hope to work in publishing. I’m hoping to publish a novel and work with the creative arts for the rest of my life with the degree that I got from Seton Hill.”
Fellow senior Cailyn Keiser spoke of her journey from college student to student teacher to educator. “I feel like I learned more about myself as a person and a learner. I remember thinking of working with kids then and comparing it to how I work with kids now, and how much I’ve learned about myself as a learner since starting college. The fact that I got here—how I got this far—I became a more confident person and student teaching has only added to that. Sometimes I feel prepared and ready to be an educator and some days, I don’t feel ready enough. The unknown is scary…”
Senior Emma Zuder also comments on her post-graduation plans and her feelings about graduate school at Carnegie Mellon. “I’m excited but nervous, which is similar to how I felt as a freshman at SHU. Part of me is sad that I’m leaving my home on the hill that I’ve known for four years, but I also feel ready to advance my studies in English at the graduate level.”
Graduation is an exciting, nerve-wracking, and even solemn experience. For most of the Class of 2024, our futures may have seemed unsure at the beginning of our education here at Seton Hill. As freshmen during the 2020 school year, COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the world and changed many people’s lives, including our own. Its effects are still around today, even now, four years later. However, we can look back on how the world has changed and use that for the better, instead of focusing on the bad – a testament to the endurance of this graduation class.
As the Class of 2024 departs from their respective Seton Hill journeys, we would all like to thank those who have helped and inspired us along the way. To future graduating classes of Seton Hill, on behalf of the graduating class of 2024, we wish you all luck in your future endeavors. As the Seton Hill motto suggests–“Hazard Yet Forward,” the graduating class of 2024 will continue to go on and flourish despite any and all obstacles.