Texas Tech seniors were supposed to walk the stage for graduation this weekend. But thousands of people from all over the country, packed into the United Spirit Arena to see their loved ones move their tassel from right to left, just didn’t seem like a safe idea.
Hannah Isett is a graduating senior at Tech. On the day of our first interview, she had just received the news that graduation was cancelled. “I knew they weren’t going to have it, but to just see the actual announcement,” she said, “it just kind of felt different to solidify, like I’m really not going to be able to walk the stage.” Like many other graduating seniors, she had been looking forward to making that walk across the stage since her first day at the university.
On March 19, President Schovanec broke the news that the in-person commencement ceremony would be cancelled. In a letter to students, he wrote:
“At this time, we must prioritize the health of our students, their families, and our faculty and staff. Therefore, it is necessary to cancel our in-person commencement ceremonies planned for May 15th and 16th.” The university, however, has arranged for a virtual ceremony to take place to honor those who are graduating. This announcement came shortly after the university had closed down.
“Literally I was in class on Tuesday and,” Isett said during our first interview in March. “So a little over a week ago, for what I didn’t know was my last time ever being in a class at Texas Tech physically.” And since then, so much has changed.
“Everything just kind of started unfolding,” Isett said regarding how life in Lubbock has changed since the outbreak of COVID-19. We talked again at the beginning of May—a week and a half since the start of the event. “I just started thinking the economy is really struggling right now and most summer jobs and internships have either been cancelled or are frozen right now…a lot of people are being laid off.”
Like so many other seniors graduating in the class of 2020, Isett’s immediate future got a bit murky after the pandemic hit. She planned on scoping things out in Nashville during Spring Break and possibly moving there after graduating. She even submitted a few job applications. But that all fell through. However, the pandemic has opened a door she hadn’t previously considered.
“I talked to a bunch of people about it,” she said, “and just kind of came to the conclusion that this would be a really good time for me to go to grad school. Out of all times, this would be a great time while the world is on pause.” Isett said that she’s grateful for the timing of everything. The time off has given her the push she needed.
Throughout the next few days we’ll be talking with Texas Tech seniors from the graduating class of 2020. How has life changed for them and what does their future look like now?
