(Photos: my friends and I in our graduation robes -- making memories, taking part in traditions, and saying goodbye in style).
Impromptu Senior Celebrations!
The moments after we found out that we had to leave Smith were heartbreaking, scary, and full of unknowns. But one thing was certain: Senior Week had begun.
Senior Week is the week between the end of classes and graduation when only the graduating class is left on campus, enjoying their last remaining days as a Smith student. From what I hear (considering I’ll never have a traditional senior week...), seniors take part in official funded events, or just hang out with their friends and families.
For the class of 2020, confronted with the impending cancellation our end-of-year celebrations, things were evidently going to be different. Within hours of the announcement, there was talk of an ad-hoc Senior Ball on the Quad, a graduation ceremony, senior banquets for houses and orgs, and an Ivy Day parade -- social distancing was not yet the norm, so we wanted to fit in some celebrations while we still felt like we could. While I won’t get into the details of the alleged kegger on the lawn of some Quad houses (a first for my time at Smith), I absolutely want to document the things I did to celebrate my four years of college.
Organized by the Senior Class Cabinet of the Student Government Association, my in-person graduation ceremony took place two days after Smith announced it’s move to online delivery. Hundreds of us gathered in front of the Wilson steps, robes on and Corona beers in hand (for the irony, of course), to watch each other walk the stage. Members of the SGA gave speeches lamenting the time we lost but congratulating us all for getting this far, and a student dressed as Nancy Pelosi (our would-be Commencement speaker) ripped up the email that informed us of the changes, to cheers from the seniors and their friends. Then, we lined up by house, announced our names into a microphone, and walked the stage.
After “graduation” was Chapin House’s “Senior Banquet.” Our Junior class representatives and non-senior Social Event Coordinators did an incredible job putting the event together, ordering every senior’s favorite food and organizing speeches and prophecies. Getting to “will” some gifts to underclassmen was a really moving way to say goodbye and express my appreciation for my house. We also had a Senior Banquet for Celebrations Dance Company later that week, which was an equally lovely way to round up a semester of hard work.
(Photo: Celebrations Dance Company’s seniors at our Senior Banquet, and the sweetest Instagram caption from our Publicity Team).
Finally, some time with the friends I made and kept over my four years at Smith. Inbetween movie nights, walks in the woods, and communal naps, we made an effort to take the photos we would have taken at an actual graduation ceremony. My friend Jemara - unofficial group photographer and light of my life - organized a photoshoot for an extended group to take photos around campus. We played music, hyped each other up, and left satisfied that the world would see us in our robes.
I am impressed, moved, and so grateful for the Smith community’s ability to come together and celebrate each other in times of sadness and uncertainty. Even in our heartbreak at losing precious time at Smith, students supported each other and attempted to find some kind of closure. The days before I left campus were scary and devastating, but these moments with my class and my friends will be some of my favorite college memories.
Plus, I crossed a big item off my Smith bucket list: I conquered the owl statue. Don’t tell the class of 1955...
