We asked the Class of 2020 to look back on their time at Purdue and share what it feels like to graduate against the backdrop of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Like most graduates, their responses were tinged with nostalgia. This isn’t the ending to their college years that they’d imagined. Though they were deprived of the opportunity to participate in shared senior-year experiences such as the conferring of their degrees at commencement, they are not devoid of hope. Instead, they offer words of encouragement and examples of resilience to inspire us all.

Before everyone left campus, my friends and I wanted to celebrate our graduation. We made our own caps, gowns, and stoles out of garbage bags and paper. It helped us make the most out of the situation. I’ve just been focusing on all the positives, staying in touch with my fellow Boilermakers and trying to enjoy as much of the spring weather as possible. It’s definitely been a trying and emotional time, but I know that I can get through it, and so can the rest of the Boilermaker family. Just gotta keep chugging on!
—Chloe Brengman (HHS’20), Cleveland, Ohio

I had been counting down the years to when I would graduate college since I was in first grade. Sure, I am upset that I’m missing my last Grand Prix week and one last Breakfast Club. I will miss the opportunity to build a physical prototype with senior design and to say thank you to my professors in person, but the time with my family has been a blessing during this period of uncertainty and fear.
—Teresa Mair (ME’20), Fairview, Texas

The last eight weeks of senior year would have been spent celebrating Ag Week, Grand Prix, playing cards with friends on the weekends, taking the coveted Purdue golf class, and studying — of course, not in that order. Walks to class are now spent sitting in Zoom waiting rooms. Thursday nights gathered around an old wooden table with friends singing along to the Piano Man are now spent in the comfort of my family’s living room. And what was supposed to be an exciting Ag Week celebration on campus was transformed into a virtual experience. We are Boilermakers. We’ll get through this, together and better.
—Dane Chapman (A’20), Brookston, Indiana

My family’s farming operation in northern Indiana has seen the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic firsthand. With over 15,000 hogs to care for and a highly disrupted supply chain with limited markets, the uncertainty from day to day has created a larger demand in needed labor at home and an unfamiliar schedule. Most mornings begin at 6:00 a.m. with coffee and an hour of school work. From then on, it’s out to care for crops, livestock, and equipment. Once the day ends at 7:00 p.m., it’s back into the house to finish any academic projects that need tending. Amidst this pandemic, I’ve developed character, a continued love for learning, and adaptability amongst change. I have witnessed communities come together to further a common cause, businesses alter their original operations to make it by financially, and the American farmer continue to feed our people. Because of Purdue, I am entering the ag industry better equipped to solve the world’s problems, produce a high-quality food product, and make things better than I found them.
—Zebidiah Davis (A’20), Reynolds, Indiana

Coming from a school of 120 kids, I was horrified when I arrived at Earhart Hall four years ago. I was astonished by the sheer amount of people, and I was worried I wouldn’t fit in. I wish I could see then where I am now. I’d tell that kid how the grass in Ross-Ade feels on a cool October night moments after a historic upset. I’d tell him what overtime in the streets of downtown Louisville feels like, having your heart ripped out only seconds away from the Final Four. I’d tell him how clear the waters are in Honduras and how crisp the air feels on a morning jog on the boardwalk in Miami. I’d mention how loud the engines roar in Daytona and how sweet a mint julep tastes at Churchill Downs. I have no regrets or bitterness over the way things ended. This school gave me more opportunities in four years than many people have in a lifetime. I’m not sure what will happen next, but there’s one thing I know for sure — West Lafayette will always be home to me.
—Cole Burke (CE’20), Jacksonville, Illinois

All of my memories seem like the longest and most fun slide show that starts the day I committed to Purdue in my living room in Guatemala, and ends with an online commencement ceremony, watched from the same living room where it all started four years ago. Ending this awesome experience in the middle of a pandemic has been hard. Nevertheless, I feel like part of being a Boilermaker is to be hardworking and to never give up, so I am using this time to think about the future and to be productive. I leave with no regrets and nothing but love for everything Purdue gave me because I am the person I am today thanks to my time here. If I could, I would restart and do it all over again, because it was THAT good.
—Fernando Franco (HHS’20), Antigua, Guatemala

I started my journey in the fall of 2015 and found a family early on with Purdue Bands and Orchestras. As a saxophone player in the “All-American” Marching Band, I performed for hundreds of thousands of football fans over the course of the past five years. My senior year, I had the amazing opportunity to lead the band as one of the drum majors for the 2019–20 season. This, in every sense of the word, was a dream come true. Beyond band, my experience at Purdue has been highlighted with the time I spent in GEARE (Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education). Traveling the world to learn of the importance of cultural competency through academic and professional experience is something that I will not soon forget. Thank you to anyone who ever put a smile on my face, stayed up all night working on homework, or joined my road trip squads. I love you all.
—Brendan Schultz (ME’20), Brighton, Michigan

As immigrants, my parents listened in wonder as I described elements of my college experience — springtime hammock season, new campus constructions, and college bar culture, to name a few. I viewed graduation as my opportunity to share a snapshot of the past four years with them. The fulfillment of walking across the stage and bookending a formative journey with friends and family disappeared overnight. The Class of 2020 is entering a world filled with uncomfortable uncertainty. Despite this, I remind myself that a heartbreaking seven weeks doesn’t undermine the other 3.5 years of growth and memories.
—Megan Lim (ChE’20), Portland, Oregon

Every semester before school starts, I write notes to myself in my planner for the upcoming weeks of school. I’ve been doing this over the past four years, and it always brought with it the excitement of what was upcoming. This week, surrounded by all the boxes I brought with me when I moved back home, I opened my planner to read, “Embrace Uncertainty.” I laughed realizing how I could have never imagined this was the uncertainty I had to embrace when I initially wrote that. It was a bittersweet moment that made me realize how this is not a setback, but a push forward.
—Allison Cattin (HHS’20), Fort Wayne, Indiana

I cannot go home because of lockdowns imposed in an effort to contain the virus. Everyone has fought their own individual battle to manage their classes and their emotional and physical health during these uncertain times. The job market is uncertain; nobody is recruiting; people have lost their jobs. We may not be where we expected to be after graduation, but we will endure hard times after this crisis. Do not lose hope, stay positive, stay active, and remember that hard times don’t last, but tough people like Boilermakers always do!
—Fernando Herrera Tamacas (T’20), San Salvador, El Salvador

It’s easy to feel robbed of the milestone celebrations and of all the little moments that make up the end of senior year from banquets and bar crawls to capstone presentations and Grand Prix celebrations. I was prepared to leave after graduation, but having to say goodbye so abruptly to the place where so many of us have grown into the individuals we are today and the chapter of our lives that we never wish would end was difficult. Dreams of moving to new cities to embark on the next chapter of pursuing graduate studies or new careers have been put on hold indefinitely. After years of hard work in pursuit of my degree, the question of “What’s next?” brings on a level of heightened anxiety. As I join into a family of proud Boilermaker alumni, I realize a few things — the Boilermaker mentality never leaves you and that the pursuit to make the next giant leap will never be over. Purdue changed my life; I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
—Simran Verma (LA’20), Princeton, New Jersey