FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony

Author: Camila Pereria Writer: Elyssa Morataya
Published: Updated:

Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.

Covid-19 put the planet on pause for months.

“Didn’t actually get a graduation; it was more of a drive-by pickup your diploma,” said Florida Gulf Coast University Graduate Dawn Workman. “I didn’t even get to see a professor. So it was really just a pick up your stuff and leave.”

For many, work was done at home, and classes were taken virtually.

“I took our courses online at home. I found it to be a very difficult semester because I felt very isolated from my peers and from my work. But I got through it.” said FGCU Graduate Michelle Galicia.

“The first two years were still COVID locked down. So it was a lot of just trying to figure out how to get through Zoom and get through the day,” said Workman.

So, for some of the class of 2024 here at FGCU, this is their first graduation ceremony ever, and it’s one they’ll never forget.

“It finally dawned on me last night that it was actually happening. I was like, I did it,” said Galicia. “I did it, I couldn’t have done it alone. I had my family, my friends. So I’m, I’m really, I’m really proud of myself.”

Last week, WINK News introduced you to Marissa Manning, a biology major at FGCU who discovered her passion for studying parasites.

Manning has battled with a rare form of cancer since high school.

She also got to walk the stage for the very first time Sunday morning, calling it a bittersweet feeling to be closing this chapter of her life and entering a new one come fall: grad school.

“I didn’t even know if I was going to get to high school graduation. Lo and behold, COVID, you know that that hit,” said Manning, “So I didn’t have a prom or Grad Bash or, you know, walking the stage…I never wore my cap and gown. I still have it in my closet. But for this graduating ceremony, I’m really excited.”

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