WASHINGTON — Graduation season is finally here!
At Howard University, students will receive their diplomas in-person at the individual college graduations on Friday. The big commencement address will take place on Saturday.
For a majority of students, this weekend will be their first day back on the campus of Howard University since the pandemic forced all classes to be virtual in March 2020.
Howard University decided to invite back last year's graduates to celebrate with the class of 2021 and take part in this big accomplishment together.
Christopher Brown is a graduating senior this year. He decided to attend Howard University after receiving scholarships to multiple schools around the nation.
“Howard University was always the school that I wanted to go to because of the alumni and what they had accomplished,” said Brown.
When the pandemic started in March 2020, the school went completely virtual.
“It’s all day looking at this one screen and so I think that is been what caused people to be so tiresome,” said Brown. “I definitely think not having your friends physically there was also something that was very stressful, especially at the beginning of the pandemic when you could not go anywhere."
Christopher Brown said continued student support throughout the pandemic has made all the difference.
“Students coming together to help each other, to lend a helping hand. Student mentorship on campus is really, really big at Howard,” said Brown.
As a graduating senior, Brown shared this advice for incoming students.
“You just really have to trust the process. I think all of us have our own plans for life and how we want things to turn out and, you know, that rarely happens exactly the way we want it to happen. I think what we have to do is really just trust the process,” said Brown.
After all the unforeseen challenges of the last year, Christopher Brown said there is one moment he's most looking forward to this weekend.
“I think when we move those tassels to the other side, I think we are going to have some tear-dropping moments,” said Brown.