By Serena Jeypaul, Staff Writer
This graduation season, we will be celebrating the class of 2024’s accomplishments. And, while every hard-earned diploma is worth celebrating, there is extra cause to pat the backs of graduates this year considering where they were four years ago this time.
The year 2020 — global pandemic, raging wildfires and a crazy political atmosphere among a plethora of other events — is already four years ago.
When the world shut down in March 2020, many of today’s 2024 graduates were high school seniors trying to salvage their final year before college. No one could have foretold COVID-19 or the new norms of social distancing and online education that it ushered in.
As the class of 2024 graduates reflect on their first days of college, they give insight into the unique circumstances of being here at TMU back in 2020.
Julia Bajanian, a marketing media major, thinks back to how classes were taught.
“My first semester, my only in-person class was outside. We had this thing called the ‘Tabernacle,’ and that’s where we had chapel on the intramural field. And I had ECT [Essentials of Christian Thought]. So that was my only class in person, but everything else was on Zoom,” Bajanian said.
Bajanian went on to share how social distancing measures were implemented on campus.
“We went to the caf, and there were plastic dividers everywhere. We couldn’t sit inside for the first two years. [Also], we had to wear masks on lower campus all the time, but could take it off when we were up in the dorms,” Bajanian said.
While sharing his motivations behind attending TMU in 2020, Jack Bird, a biology/pre-medicine major, shared, “I decided to come here because looking at my other options, most schools were going to a completely online format. My conviction was that as long as it followed good COVID protocols, I would be fine attending in person. Master’s was already one of my top choices, and seeing that they had good biblical principles behind staying open made me want to go here even more. Also, my last semester in high school was completely online. I saw that my learning really suffered because of that, and my mental health as well from just not being around other people.”
Being on campus in 2020 provided a close-knit setting for students to bond more closely with one another.
“Even though we were limited with social interactions, I still felt like it was somewhat normal; and because we were limited, I actually met some of my best friends that way,” Bird said.
Other students reflect on how the campus has undergone major physical changes over their four years here.
“The Oaks Pavilion wasn’t here when I got here [and] we were doing chapel in a tent at the I.M. [intramural] field,” theology major Ty Sherman said.
Noelle Borland, a history major, added to Sherman’s train of thought.
“It’s definitely a lot nicer in regards to hanging out and studying. The old campus wasn’t terrible — it was just less friendly to sitting and studying outdoors. All the changes they’ve made to lower and the Dixon fire pit and the patio behind EHC have made it a lot nicer for studying,” Borland said.
While this select group of graduates has seen how TMU has developed physically over the past four years, they’ve also witnessed how the campus has grown socially, witnessing record-breaking enrollment numbers each year they’ve been here. With that said, they’ve played a role in shaping the culture here and have much to leave behind.
While reflecting on what she will miss most about TMU after graduating, Taylor Inouye, a double-major in finance and biblical counseling, shared, “I’m really going to miss the people, specifically the community of believers. I’m going to miss the professors and their faithfulness to teach the Bible, and the random and encouraging conversations around campus. I’m just really thankful for my time at Master’s.”
The TMU Mane 