WHILE A learn-from-home arrangement remains to be the defining reality of Ateneans today, the Loyola Schools’ Class of 2021 is now well into the final semester of their college lives. A year into an online setup means that so much has changed since last year: In classes, in career plans, and in the way Ateneans are preparing for the future that lies ahead.

In light of these changes, a common sentiment pervades many Ateneans: A prayer to return back to campus and restore a degree of normalcy once more. This prayer especially resonates in the students nearing the end of their college journey. In the midst of their senior year rush, three seniors share their Ateneo experience and what marching away soon would mean to them.

Stories of memories and lasts

The expectations this year’s seniors have for their graduation vary. Some have not yet thought about preparing for the ceremonies, while others have already resigned to the inevitable online graduation. However, a common expectation can be seen in the idea of finality: Dealing with many significant ‘lasts.’ The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively taken away opportunities to savor these experiences—from planning the final org event of the year to having the last meal in Gonzaga with friends.

With the Loyola Schools graduation in October to be held online, three seniors face the tremendous task of choosing what to make of the final stretch of their college lives.

AEGIS Managing Editor Frances Concepcion (4 BS COMTECH) shares how she and her team are hard at work, trying to make the “best yearbook possible” as she goes through her last semester in college.

“The yearbook [serves] as a remembrance of your four years in Ateneo…It is [our] deliverable for the end of the year, but then you realize that you are carrying the journeys of so many different people,” she says. For her, the finality of a yearbook helps people better reminisce about their graduation in the future which, online or not, is a major milestone in a college student’s life.

Beyond AEGIS and other organizational work, Concepcion admits that she has been preoccupied with thesis work and has not quite mentally and emotionally prepared herself for an online graduation. However, she shares that she will miss some of the small experiences that come with being Atenean: Immersions in different communities and the nerve-wracking feeling of waiting outside De la Costa Hall just before an oral exam. She also shares how she has talked to her peers and discovered that everyone has their own story to tell—from their experiences in the past year to their entire stay in the University.

On a similar note, Sofia Guanzon (4 Dip IR) reflects that seniors may not feel as though they are truly preparing for graduation. In her eyes, the COVID-19 pandemic and online school “[slow] everything down” and keep students preoccupied with various tasks.

Guanzon shares that on a personal level, she is doing everything she can to rearrange some of her life plans. Initially planning to pursue law after college, Guanzon has decided to postpone it for the time being due to the pandemic. “I realized I needed to focus on my well-being… I guess the plan right now is to rest and figure out what I wanna do,” she says.

As COVID-19 continues to smudge out crucial points in people’s lives, Tamia Reodica (4 AB COM) tries not to mull over what could have been. “A huge part of [preparing] is just accepting,” she states. Like Guanzon, she chooses to focus on accepting what comes her way. This acceptance, however, does not mean resignation.

Reodica has also taken the initiative in talking to people more online,  emphasizing how community continues to be an important source of support during these tough times. “My friends remind me that they’re still there. Knowing we’re all going through the same thing and that no one’s alone in this helps a lot to know,” she says.

This support within the batch may prove to be vital as online graduation comes with many sacrifices on graduates’ part. Reodica notes that moments like walking up the stage or taking a picture with her parents holding the diploma are irreplicable experiences. “I’m going to look back at it seeing that I was just at home, staring at a screen. I think it’s just sacrificing the whole experience; [a] right of passage into growing up,” she shares.

With graduation being the last time she would see her fellow batchmates, Guanzon initially looked forward to “being as obnoxious” as she could. “Hug that random seatmate I had when I was first year, take pictures with my old block… I wanted those experiences,” she shares. Guanzon believes that these little experiences are what make graduation a ceremony truly worth remembering.

The same is true for Concepcion, who shares how the little things she took for granted are the ones that will occupy her mind come graduation day. An all-online setup, she says, means sacrificing physical memories that can no longer be lived. Such memories include spending time with classmates, catching up with friends she has lost touch with, and walking around campus grounds.

Today, the graduating seniors continue their efforts in coming to terms with sacrificing these moments—found only in a senior year and graduation spent on campus. Despite having to do so in isolation, a sense of unity can be found in the toughest of times. “[Despite all of us having different experiences] I could say that we all know we are all on this together,” Guanzon expresses.

Between the earth and sky

The lack of a shared onsite senior year experience has evoked varying degrees of emotions within the graduating class. With everyone going through different challenges and victories in the previous year of quarantine, a single senior’s experience of graduation cannot encapsulate Batch 2021’s sentiments towards marching away online. These three Ateneans strive to meaningfully contribute to their community by making the most of their final year—not just for themselves, but for their batch as a whole.

Concepcion shares that while their batch will have to go through online commencement exercises, one can still always view it in a positive light. “It is still the end of a big milestone we have been able to complete,” she shares.

As seniors spend their final months revisiting souvenirs of their days in Ateneo and offer support to their friends in the online setup, it seems that not all hope is lost. These three graduating Ateneans’ decision to savor their final months in the University, in whatever way they can, reveals how their batch can still uncover hope and joy in times of loss.

ERRATUM: An earlier version of this article stated an interviewee’s name as Tamia Feliciano, instead of Tamia Reodica. The article has since been edited to rectify the error. We apologize for the oversight.