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This weekend she’s joyfully back in �ʼһ��� for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shut campuses down around the world. She’ll celebrate as the class of 2020 reunites—and reclaims—the rite of commencement. 

Many colleges postponed graduation ceremonies or turned them into virtual events during the pandemic’s early days. �ʼһ��� leaders made an extraordinary promise: College trustees pledged $200,000 of their own money for graduates who needed help with travel expenses for the future ceremony.

That day has come and 364 class members—about 75 percent—plan to attend Sunday’s commencement. Many families and friends who offered consolation two years ago also will join the celebration.

Going the Distance

Mara Papakostas ’20 was also teaching in Taiwan through the Fulbright program and plans to be at the commencement ceremony.

“I’m so grateful that �ʼһ��� could cover my flight from Taiwan,” Papakostas said. “It wouldn’t have been possible for me to attend without their generosity.

“It was such a disappointment to not have a graduation. Time has passed, but everyone persevered to make this happen,” she said. “To be able to get together as a class and a community again is really exciting. It’s not only commencement, it’s also a reunion. I can’t wait to see everyone.” 

“It’s a huge help,” Prichard said. “I’ve told so many friends about �ʼһ��� helping out with travel expenses, and they’re shocked, they’re like ‘that just doesn’t happen.’"

“It’s hard to explain to other people about the closeness of the �ʼһ��� community, and the commitment �ʼһ��� people have to helping each other. It’s not just about being kind, it’s about giving back. I’m the perfect example,” Prichard said. “�ʼһ��� was my first choice for college and the community helped make tuition more affordable for me. From admissions to the alumni who donate, I have so many people to thank. And I look forward to helping future �ʼһ��� students.”

Hall, now working for The Arena Stage theater company in Washington, D.C., said she’s never stopped wanting the ceremony, “even if we had to wait five years."

“I was getting a little nervous in fall of 2021, a lot of other colleges were having their 2020 in-person ceremonies, but I held out hope. I knew President Quillen would keep her word,” Hall said. “It shows the �ʼһ��� culture that most people are coming back.

“A bunch of my friends who graduated from other schools in 2020 said ‘it’s been two years, why would you want to go back—you already graduated?’ But this is important, we all love �ʼһ���, and we want to go back and graduate for real.”

On Saturday, Hall, her sister, mom and grandmother will make the drive from Annapolis to �ʼһ���. On Sunday, she’ll wear a new yellow dress under her graduation gown: “My mom convinced me I should be more colorful this time.”

She remembers attending her sister Leigh’s 2014 graduation from Bowdoin College, and the anticipation their family felt while waiting to hear the president call her name.

“Other than seeing my friends, that’s what I’m looking forward to the most,” Hall said. “That’s a really powerful and important moment in a lot of people’s lives.”

It’s a moment Kucevic doesn’t want to miss.

“We were all just devastated when they told us we had to leave campus,” she said. “The most painful part was not getting to experience commencement. I remember as a freshman seeing them set up for it and thinking how pretty the lawn looked and what an exciting time it was for seniors. To lose that was so sad.