Graduation is a special time to celebrate all of the hard work, sacrifices, and achievements that all graduates have made throughout their time in college. It marks the end of one milestone as they embrace the start of another... whether it be graduate school, a career, marriage, and more. 

However, due to the severity of the spread of COVID-19, many schools, local businesses, and the federal/state governments have had to make many difficult decisions to flatten the curve of the spread of this virus and to promote the practice social distancing.

As NC State students start to move off-campus and finish this semester's classes online, it has become a looming reality for many graduating seniors that a tangible graduation ceremony may not happen, especially as many universities, such as UCLA, Johns Hopkins, and ECU have opted for virtual commencement ceremonies rather than holding an in-person celebration.

It is with a somber understanding that COVID-19 is a very dangerous virus that will impact us physically, financially, and emotionally for some time, and it is also reasonable to believe that this virus will not allow for a graduation ceremony in May.

However, it is not reasonable to dismiss the accomplishments of all of NC State's graduates, its first-generation students, and those who sacrificed so much to make it this far to simply carry out a virtual graduation ceremony online. You would never hold a wedding or a funeral solely online, so why move a graduation ceremony over to a virtual format? Graduation is about the pictures, it's about hugging your friends goodbye, and it's about standing together with family and friends as we transition into a new phase of our lives.

I realize that it is not safe now (or maybe even later into May) to hold a graduation ceremony at NC State, but to simply not hold a ceremony at all is not the solution. However, when it is safe to do so, I hope that we can not only celebrate an end to COVID-19 that has impacted our global community so much, but I hope we can also celebrate the accomplishments, sacrifices, and resilience made by the entire NC State community, especially during an unprecedented time like this as we move on to our next milestone in life.

We started our journey together as one Wolfpack at convocation in PNC Arena, and I hope that we can close our journey together as one Wolfpack. I realize that postponing commencement will require sacrifice for all parties involved, but it is worth the sacrifice and I am willing to contribute in any way I can. We will all get through this tough time together!

"For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack." - Rudyard Kipling