I'll start with the good news. I am the student speaker for the commissioning ceremony for my department. The evening before graduation my department gets together and celebrates our hard work. The graduating class chooses a speaker to reflect on their journey at Loyola. I am thrilled and incredibly humbled that the class of 2020 chose me. I've dreamed of speaking on behalf of my class my whole life and it's coming true. That's the good news.
The bad news is it is all going to be on Zoom. I love gatherings, they mark the passage of time. Time is a thief. We pause for big events are because these events are milestones of life. I genuinely was looking forward to seeing everyone I loved; not on a screen but in person. It's in our nature to want to come together and that has been taken away from us. To everyone graduating this year, I feel your pain, however, this is temporary and I know our generation will be more creative, thoughtful, and empathetic because of this crisis.
I know I grieve a loss that is temporary. Some of you may have lost a loved one and for that I am deeply sorry. Some of you have been alone for two months and I can't imagine how much you just want to be with other people. For all essential workers, thank you for your sacrifice. We owe you so much.
And to Dr. Fauci, a fellow Loyola graduate, you exemplify leadership at its best in the very worst of times!
Yours Truly,
Hannah!
