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How does it feel to graduate in times of corona? We asked our students Maria Rokhmaniyko, Michele Li and Jeroen Wegh about their experiences of concluding their studies and planning their further steps during social distancing. 

“I was very much looking forward to my graduation,” says Maria disappointed. “I guess I pictured pretty much the same what everyone expected - wearing a gown and a cap at the Commencement Ceremony and having my friends and family around. It was supposed to be a very memorable moment, a happy finish line to my career as a Bachelor student”.

Also Michele expected to find himself at the traditional Commencement Ceremony in TivoliVredenburg, accompanied by his family: “I imagined celebrating my graduation with family as many were planning on coming. However, they can no longer come with all the travel bans in place. I was really looking forward to having my dad come to Utrecht for the first time and showing him around. I was also really excited to have my uncles here to celebrate with me.”

Interviews on Skype

Academically, Michele was lucky to have completed a great part of the interviews for his thesis before the coronavirus kicked in. “In my thesis I examine adolescent health issues on Aruba from a children’s rights perspective. I look at the United Nations reporting procedure as a tool to instigate improvements in a local setting. Even after the quarantine measures were introduced on Aruba, I was still able to call or skype my respondents.”

A Social Psychology major, Maria is researching how false feedback can affect one's performance and how this relationship is mediated by dispositional optimism. She says that the coronavirus measures have affected her work on her thesis. “My productivity dropped significantly as a result of the corona crisis and being away from my study spot. To be honest, I don't feel as motivated as before, and I struggle to organize my days well.”

Sacrifices

Jeroen feels a bit different: “I think the corona situation is sad, but it is not too big of an issue for me personally. Everyone has to sacrifice something in these times, and if my biggest issue is that there is no official graduation ceremony, then I'd say I got lucky.” The coronavirus measures have not really affected his thesis writing, he says. Jeroen is writing his thesis on how the formation of a certain mineral called Ikaite could be replicated in the lab. This mineral is potentially able to store CO2 in its pores. “I got my data from other papers instead of lab work. On top of that, I was doing a summer thesis anyway, so in terms of planning nothing changed a lot”.

Although ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� College Utrecht will organise an alternative online Commencement Ceremony, the students are hoping for a proper ceremony at a later stage. For the time being, Maria has returned to her parents and is therefore is missing the social aspect of the College life. “I planned to make the most of this semester academically and socially. I miss having my closest friends around, especially when knowing that we will not be able to live and spend a lot of time together anymore.” Jeroen and Michele feel a bit luckier, as they are still on campus. “Almost all my friends are here,” says Jeroen. “I feel like I still get closure with the people close to me”.