Class of 2020 Reflection

To the Class of 2020

Dear class of 2020,

I began writing this in May… it is now September. I just watched my virtual graduation, miles away from everyone that made Gonzaga the place it was for me. Honestly, those were the toughest and most rewarding 4 years of my life. I had my lowest lows and highest highs, and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

While we did not expect to graduate in a pandemic, we did expect to finish and accomplish something so profound and important. We chose to provide ourselves with an education and so many experiences that no one can erase from us. While yes there is something to mourn here (believe I did mourn), there is also something so incredible to celebrate. We just worked our butts off amidst to much change and adversity. From this we have learned so much compassion and resilience, something we can bring with us throughout the rest of our lives.

With this newfound strength, comes newfound power. Power to do the right thing and to be a person for others. Throughout my commencement, Gonzaga reminded me time and again that everyone has infinite worth and value. This means we must treat everyone with respect for their personhood and at the end of the day we are all the same. Between the current health crisis and the social crisis, we have the perfect opportunity to listen to the voices that have stayed silent for so so long. These conversations I promise will change your heart and allow you to always grow. While formal learning may be complete, we are now lifelong learners who can glean any information from day to day activities!

Although our time in undergrad is complete, we now get to leave with some of the most incredible memories. We have so much tenacity and flexibility instilled in us from this drastic change. From the early days of freshman year to the final classes just a few months ago, we have molded ourselves into amazing young adults who are going to do huge things!

Love,

Lauren