By Grace Bergt, SAA 2020
Since the week of March 9th my cohort mates and I have been in a state of constant change and adjustment, as Michigan State University continues to take new measures almost every day to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. One of the biggest changes is the cancelation of the SAA Graduation Celebration, our program’s academic hooding ceremony which is planned by the Student Affairs Graduate Association (SAGA). As the president of SAGA, I was very emotionally invested in the ceremony preparations. SAGA had been planning the celebration for months, and we were heartbroken to announce that our cohort would no longer be hooded together on April 30th.
Despite our disappointment, the SAGA E-board was determined to still find a meaningful way to recognize our hard work and accomplishments throughout the SAA program. We decided to purchase graduation hoods for everyone in the cohort. Although the hooding ceremony would no longer happen, the hood itself could still serve as an artifact to perhaps be worn in pictures or eventually be hung in our professional offices. Once the hoods were purchased, SAGA had to make a quit plan to disperse each hood to each cohort mate, since Governor Whitmer had just issued a Stay at Home order that would last for 3 weeks. We made a plan for everyone to pick up their hoods outside of my residence hall.
The exchanging of the graduation hood was meant to happen at our SAA celebration. Each graduate would have chosen a loved one to present them with their hood as they processed into the ceremony. But instead, the exchange of each hood happened in the doorway of East Wilson Hall, with me extending my arm out as far as possible to ensure for proper social distancing between me and my cohort mate. And although this delivery of the hood was is no way how any of us imagined it would be, it was still so meaningful and heartwarming for me. It gave me the privilege to see many of cohort mates smile and hear their laughs again in-person; things I’ve missed so dearly in the past few weeks since switching to online classes at MSU. Many of my exchanges were brief, but each left me feeling so grateful for the opportunity to see each person again. And although I am not the loved one each graduate would’ve chosen to present them with their hood, it was a gift to see how excited and fulfilled everyone looked to finally receive their hood. I thank you each of you for sharing that powerful moment with me.
