And on Sunday, they'll walk

Congratulations, Class of 2022

On Sunday, I’ll line up with my teacher-friends to cheer on our graduating class of 2022 at an amphitheater on Long Island Sound. We’ll wear our traditional regalia and I will adhere to my own tradition of having no clue how to anchor the mortar board so that it stays on my largish head.

I have been a full-time college professor since 2015, and this is a special class. Not only have I known them since they entered college, I have known them through one of the most challenging times to get an education, this god-awful pandemic. I’ve watched them struggle and I’ve watched them soar. I’ve fielded late-night emails and sat in my office reassuring them that they could absolutely do this. I’ve been annoyed as hell at some of them, and then I’ve been so inspired I had to choke back tears. They have proven themselves adaptable, creative, and resilient.

And they did it. They absolutely did it, and Sunday, they’ll prance/dance/skip across the stage and even though we’re not supposed to cheer individual students, I’ll ignore that rule and yell my head off.