As we enter into the final weeks of the semester, we wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the Class of 2024.

Many of you arrived at Shippensburg University in August 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic.  As faculty members who were there with you, and as the faculty co-coordinators of the First Year Experience Program, we know what you experienced when you started your college careers.

The school stayed open, but most classes went virtual. For those classes meeting in person, you were in gigantic, “socially distanced” classrooms with 6 feet between you and your nearest classmates. Your professors taught classes using OWL cameras and standing behind plexiglass walls. Via Zoom, we were all disembodied black boxes on computer screens.

So many of the things we take for granted —sitting together for a meal, attending a football game, listening to a concert, chatting together in the hallway or before class, or just hanging out with friends — did not happen, or occurred in strange, awkward ways. It was surreal.

You could walk from one end of campus to the other and not see anyone. Many students and faculty never set foot on campus during your entire first year.

Remarkably, you persevered through those challenging times and continued on with your education. So many students who started in fall 2020 did not return the following fall. But you did. You had the resilience, determination, focus and drive to keep going even when there were so many reasons to give up. 

You kept going, semester after semester, and now graduation is almost here. No one else in American history has experienced college quite the way you have. It was an extraordinary, scary, challenging time — and you overcame the obstacles and made it to the finish line. We are so proud of you. 

Congratulations to the Amazing Class of 2024! See you at graduation!

With love and admiration,

Dr. Steven Burg, Professor of History & 

Dr. Laurie Cella, Professor of English 

Faculty Co-Coordinators, Shippensburg University First Year Experience Program

Share