The Final Countdown

Two days.

Two days until we finish our marathon. Two days until we don our graduation regalia. Two days until we cross the stage, becoming the most recent graduates of Florida Atlantic University.

As our final days of exams come to an end, the thought of finishing our undergraduate career is beginning to set in. With that thought, I felt compelled to write a little note to FAU’s Class of 2022. There is no time like now to reflect on the past years we have spent at university, creating unforgettable memories, making lifelong friends, studying for countless exams, and writing more papers than we would like to admit. We have participated in clubs and programs that broadened our horizons and have taken classes with professors that changed our perspective on life.

In March 2020, as we went home for Spring Break or left on a trip, we received an email alerting us that we would be online for two weeks. As these two weeks extended to the entire Spring semester, we entered an unprecedented stage of our lives we are still finding our way out of. Instead of bonding in dorm rooms and sitting in classrooms, we hung out on Zoom and took our final exams in our childhood bedrooms. The past two years have been like no other in recent history, but we adapted and overcame. Equipping ourselves with masks and hand sanitizer, we slowly but surely returned to campus for in-person learning. Though COVID-19 may have completely changed the way we do things, it also made us more appreciative for the things we take for granted, most particularly those who became a second family to us at university.

Shortly, some of us will be working towards another advanced degree, whether it be at graduate school, medical school, law school, or other pre-professional and professional degree programs. Others will be entering the workforce, pursuing a job in their desired career path. For some students, our university career has not clearly illuminated the future, and it remains unknown where we will end up five, fifteen, or fifty years from now. While we may be anxious about the unknown, we accept the fact that this uncertainty is okay, and that we will achieve any goal we lay out for ourselves. This diploma is not the end of our paths, but rather the beginning. From here, we are freer than ever to design our future.

University has taught us to be resilient, passionate, and optimistic. We have overcome all of the hardships experienced throughout our time at Florida Atlantic University. We worked successfully towards a degree, while living in a world forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though remaining socially distanced, we continued to develop relationships with professors and peers alike, never losing sight of the cap and gown, and a fancy diploma that we will hang up with pride.

With two days remaining of our undergraduate careers, think back on the good and the bad, the memories and experiences that have shaped the person who will soon walk across the stage. At the same time, relish in the present. Enjoy the final days with the friends who have become a family at the campus that has become a home. Be proud of yourself. You earned this feeling.

And as always, Go Owls!