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Photos of OSU graduates

Oklahoma State Class of 2020 finishes strong in a year filled with uncertainties

Monday, August 31, 2020

Every class has a story. Perhaps it’s a defining moment, a small part of a broader chapter in history.

Then there’s the Class of 2020.

As countless ads and talking heads have hammered home, these are unprecedented times.

Nobody started the year thinking they’d finish via Zoom and have their graduation ceremonies postponed. Nobody expected a pandemic that would bring the world to a screeching halt, or perhaps more accurately, an uncertain skid. And few anticipated the rise of the most significant racial justice movement in over 50 years.

But in spite of all the uncertainty, the Class of 2020 finished — and finished strong.

“The Class of 2020 truly exemplifies what it means to be a Cowboy,” President Burns Hargis said. “They persevered through adversity and rallied together to help one another and to make a positive impact on the world in so many ways. They volunteered, sacrificed, adapted and used their voices to promote the values of kindness and inclusivity that we embrace as a land-grant university. We are proud of their accomplishments and look forward to all they will achieve.”

OSU Vice President of Student Affairs Doug Hallenbeck said he could not be prouder of this group.

“It is hard to put into words the feeling of loss that I have for the Class of 2020 for not having a ‘normal’ end to their OSU experience, but they handled it with class and dignity,” he said.

“The Cowboy community came together in a big way. We had an overwhelming outpouring of people wanting to provide financial assistance to those that were in need. We also saw people come together to also help students, faculty, and staff deal with the emotional struggles during this time.”

Some have drawn parallels to the past, 1918 and 1968 in particular. OSU assistant professor of history Holly M. Karibo said it’s not hard to see why.

“The (Spanish flu) epidemic that began in 1918 coincided with — and was worsened by — another monumental event: World War I. So that generation was literally battling on multiple fronts,” she said.

Kirksey
“I know as a community, a culture and a group we’re going to be stronger for this.”— Kaitlyn Kirksey

“Still, the convergence of the Covid-19 outbreak with a period in the U.S. where millions are demanding racial justice and major social and political change is certainly momentous. It’s not coincidental that protests against systemic racism have emerged during this pandemic — a public health crisis that has disproportionately affected communities of color, particularly African American and Native communities. In this sense, the pandemic has exposed and worsened issues that were already deeply affecting the country. For many, the pandemic has made the stakes in pushing for concrete changes even higher.

“One interesting parallel between 1918 and 1968 is the extent to which young people were affected by the changes sweeping the nation — and indeed, the world. The 1918 influenza outbreak was particularly deadly precisely because it affected young adults. Likewise, many of the people on the front lines in the political battles in 1968 were young people, whether soldiers in Vietnam, student protesters or civil rights activists.”

As they look to the future, these Class of 2020 graduates are united by a shared experience. The road ahead won’t be easy, but it won’t be entirely unfamiliar territory.

And, when history seems to be repeating itself, Karibo said the past can offer some guidance.

“We can perhaps take heart in the fact that in 2020 we can learn from the experiences and traumas brought by the 1918 outbreak. Our focus today on social distancing, ‘flattening the curve,’ wearing face masks, and so on are promoted in part because of the experiences of those who lived through the influenza pandemic over 100 years ago. It’s also on all of us to actually follow those guidelines, something they also learned in 1918. Since very few people who lived through 1918 are still alive, that historical memory is lost for the average person.

“How we come out of this pandemic in the end will rely, in part, on how willing we are to follow the science and public policy. In this sense, there is a very real personal stake and responsibility for all of us.

“We might also remember that changes often only come about with great upheaval and sacrifice.” 

In Their Own Words

Blakey
“I think the underlying takeaway from this that’s a positive is the call to action to care for others.”— Adrienne Blakey

There will be pain, but pain won’t win.

That’s the prevailing sentiment among the members of the Class of 2020 who shared their perspectives on their final semester.

Stillwater native and former Student Government Association President Kaitlyn Kirksey said all of her classmates knew 2020 had turning-point potential.

“We all kind of planned for that,” she said. “But nobody planned for what it ended up being.”

She believes the ability to adapt is the defining characteristic of her class. The world is changing, and these major historical crossroads happen to have landed at a major crossroads in the lives of these graduates. Some changes have been positive, such as removing the name of racist Gov. William Murray from campus buildings. But even in that victory, Kirksey, a human development and family science senior graduating in December and Zeta Tau Alpha member, said there is more to be done, and future challenges will require the kind of adaptability Cowboys have shown during the pandemic.

“We are on the brink of starting careers, and so many of my friends were taking jobs and making big moves. And now we can’t take an airplane. Some of my friends have had their start dates pushed back. I lost my job. All of these things on top of these big life transitions for us have shown how adaptable and resilient our class has been and how we will continue to grow as people and as a community within the Cowboy family.”

Fourth-generation OSU graduate Savannah Robisch had a similar take, describing the class of 2020 as “conditioned to adapt.” She was disappointed when she found out students wouldn’t be returning after spring break. But she said nothing could take away from her OSU experience or dampen the relationships she built here.

“We were all disappointed and upset, but we’re all there for each other still,” she said.

“It’s sad that we didn’t get our last month and a half, but I had 3.75 years of great friendships, classmates and teachers. It’s difficult, because we didn’t get to say goodbye to a lot of meaningful people in our lives, but I think the relationships and friendships we made here will last.

“We won’t give up. We finished regardless of all the obstacles in our way, and we’re going to come out better for it.”

Like Kirksey, agriculture communications and plant soil sciences graduate Adrienne Blakey will be a December graduate, which means another atypical semester for her. Though she lost some momentum, she isn’t complaining. In the spring, she found out she had been selected as OSU’s 18th Truman Scholar and last fall, she was named Homecoming Queen. She is grateful for all of the opportunities and friendships she found at OSU and said nothing can take away the bright orange sheen of her memories. If anything, she said, it makes them sweeter.

She’s also grateful for the university’s swift response to the pandemic.

Lewis
“It’s just another thing we had to persevere through. I think I’m more prepared, no matter what the situation.”— Annagrace Lewis

“I truly think the university did everything it could to make the right adjustments for the safety of its students,” she said. “A lot of graduating seniors needed those last credits, and, despite the circumstances, the university did everything it could with the pass/fail option to help students get through this predicament. Taking it a step further, looking at the number of students the university supported financially and the structure of those initiatives was incredibly encouraging.”

She saw faculty members adjust flawlessly — moving resources online, holding regular video conference meetings and ensuring students got the most out of the online classroom experience.

“The administration did a phenomenal job with the lemons they were dealt,” she said. “And our faculty adjusted accordingly.”

As she looks ahead to her final semester, Blakey is also looking forward to welcoming her middle sister to the Cowboy family. As her Class of 2020 moves onward, Blakey said it will be up to those who follow to carry the OSU tradition — and they’re up to the task.

“I think the underlying takeaway from this that’s a positive is the call to action to care for others,” she said. “And I think that’s come out at this time. I think the Cowboy family has lived up to its name. We care for each other deeply, and I think that’s been apparent in how students, faculty and staff have adjusted. … I think that’s something that’s always been a part of who we are, but I think it’s been reaffirmed at this time.”

Silver Linings

Annagrace Lewis remembers it vividly: She finished her last final on a Wednesday.

The triple major (biology, zoology and plant biology), women’s club soccer team member and president of Arts and Sciences Ambassadors had finally finished her degree. But she didn’t feel triumphant. There was no euphoric exit, no celebrating with friends, nothing.

“Normally you’d ‘finish’ school on a Friday, and you’d have graduation the next day,” she said. “Finishing on that Wednesday, it was like OK, I submitted my final. … Now what? There was no big moment, it was just kind of like all right, we’re done. I kind of internalized it a little bit. I thought, OK, I’ve finished this monumental thing in my life. … I had to kind of make myself get excited for that, which was a little bit difficult. But after getting a lot of texts and posts, that definitely made it a lot more worthwhile.”

While she was disappointed in not being able to return after spring break, she found relief in how it turned out.

“It turned out to be different than I thought it would be, in a good way,” she said. “I felt it was the same quality education that I would’ve received in class, which is amazing.

“I know it was very difficult to convert in-person labs to online. The way that all the professors came together and created a plan to ensure that we still got everything we needed from those labs — it was pretty remarkable. There was no skimping on our education. It remained at a high level, and they made sure we’re prepared for what comes next.”

While the pandemic may have defined that moment, Lewis said it won’t define her entire time at OSU.

Routh
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”Brayden Routh

“I won’t let that taint everything that OSU means to me,” she said. “It’s just another thing we had to persevere through. I think I’m more prepared, no matter what the situation. I feel like I could be one of those people who will know what to do, how to lift people up. I don’t think it hardened me — it just made me a little bit stronger.”

Veterinary students of the Class of 2020, who all graduated and took the Veterinarian’s Oath in a virtual ceremony, felt a deep familial connection before COVID-19. Fittingly, they call themselves “the kinfolk.”

Brayden Routh, DVM, who some may know by her artist moniker the Blurred Bison, said the crisis enhanced their deep sense of camaraderie. While she was initially worried about how clinical and lab work would continue, Routh said she finished feeling well prepared — and especially well-prepared for the new norm of connecting virtually with patients.

Josiah Dame, DVM, said faculty adaptability made the difference.

“I was upset, not because the school took action — that was appropriate and needed to happen,” he said. “I was upset knowing that the end of our fourth year wasn’t going to look the way we thought it was. But once our rotations started online, a lot of good came out of it. Our clinicians were really spectacular and switched gears quickly to working through Zoom and Skype. They recorded everything that they were doing so we could see it, too.

“Learning had to change. We still learned a lot. Reading journal articles became more important. Those different important aspects of medicine and learning came to the forefront, which was nice because you don’t always get to delve into that when you’re working at the clinic. It gave us the opportunity to stretch that muscle of learning from scientific research.”

Even though their college careers ended in an unusual fashion, the Class of 2020 is on to even bigger and better things.

“I know as a community, a culture and a group we’re going to be stronger for this,” Kirksey said. “We did miss out on that last hurrah, but we still have the yearning and desire to live out our legacy as part of the Cowboy family. I’m excited to see how that plays out for us … even after we’ve gotten our diplomas.” 

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