2021 brought its highs, and its lows, but one of the biggest disappointments for the graduating class of 2021, was not getting to have an in-person graduation ceremony.
(NB: Quick June 2022 update: The 2020 and 2021 grads who didn't get an in-person ceremony last year were invited to an in-person ceremony this year!) If you want to read about my experience graduating a year later, in-person, tap here for my part 2 of this graduation themed post: "Graduating!.. During a global pandemic: Returning to campus for an in-person Alumni Ceremony"
Back to the pandemic graduation post!
Graduation or Convocation as they call it, happens in late June, and by that time Toronto was still only in stage 2 of it's reopening plans.
Regardless, York had already put out a statement since late 2020, that in light of the ongoing pandemic, all graduation/convocation related ceremonies and celebrations would be restricted to being solely online.
Rather than getting to dress up, pick up your cap and gown, sit amongst your peers in your faculty and programs for the final time, and then cross the stage to receive your diploma while they say your name on the loudspeaker....
For the graduating class of 2021, our degrees came in a box, and the various graduation ceremonies were done via Youtube livestreams.
My college/faculty, Glendon, was the very first one, starting at 11am.
I won't lie, it was incredibly disappointing, and frustrating to not get to experience the in-person convocation ceremony.
Especially since I'd been dreaming of the day when it would finally be my turn to be able to put on that North American looking cap and gown and have my 'throw-the-cap-in-the-air-like-they-did-in-High-School-Musical moment.
My high school graduation back home in Trinidad & Tobago consisted of the graduating year coming together, still in our uniforms and having a ceremony in the school assembly hall.
There were no caps or gowns, so I thought I'd finally get the chance to experience that type of graduation ceremony since coming to Canada, after watching it on TV for so many years.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case in 2021.
Despite not having an in-person ceremony, there was still an opportunity for us to get to dress up in the full cap, gown and sash for our official graduation headshots. You know, those ones that your family buys to post up on the mantel, or share with all your aunties, uncles, cousins and everyone else down the grape vine.
That was the only thing I really had to look forward to, getting dressed up for the headshot, which was originally supposed to be in June that year. And then.. can you believe.. they cancelled all the appointments that month at literally the last minute.
The day before my scheduled appointment, everything was postponed due to Ontario still being in stage 2 of their 'return to normalcy' plan.
At that point, I was kind of over the whole graduation thing. Especially since the headshot was postponed to August, and by that time, whatever graduation excitement you had left would have fizzled out.
I still wanted to have some kind of graduation moment to commemorate the achievement though, so I decided to arrange a photoshoot myself.
I ran into a few obstacles trying to arrange my own graduation photoshoot. The biggest one, was trying to find a place that rented out the graduation gowns. York uses black gowns so I thought it should be an easy find, but boy was I wrong.
I even tried calling the studio that postponed everything, only to find out that of course, they don't rent out the gowns either.
York provided a website for people who were looking to buy graduation gowns themselves if they so desired, since a lot of people were having their own personal graduation ceremonies at their homes with family and/or friends, but after seeing the total price coming up to over $100, I didn't think it was worth the price.
On top of that, I was trying to pull all of this together on my own at the start of June, aka, Graduation month, so even the Amazon options for graduation cap and gowns were higher in price, with everything graduation related being high in demand.
Luckily for me, after days of searching, even going over to the American Amazon site (since nothing from Amazon Canada was going to arrive in time) I was finally able to find a reasonably priced gown for $27.00CAD.
Then things started falling into place. I reached out to a close friend who, lucky me again, also doubles as a professional photographer, we visited my old campus and were able to get some amazing pictures.
In the moment of doing the photoshoot (which I did after the virtual ceremony), I felt more of the sense of accomplishment that I had been missing at the virtual graduation itself.
It was probably because I'd been envisioning myself in that robe for four years.
To then finally see myself in the cap and gown in the pictures, knowing what it signified, it was the final piece of the full circle moment of me finally seeing and accepting myself as a 2021 university graduate, and all the hard work and very rocky journey it took me to get to that point. (I'm a very sentimental person who loves making memories, so it meant a lot to me.)
A lot of what living through this pandemic has taught me is prepare for the disappointments, but don't dwell on them because there are likely some alternatives. Those alternatives may not be up to par of what you were expecting, but there may be others that could even exceed your expectations.
It's funny, because the separate personal photoshoot with my friend was one of those moments where my expectations were exceeded (especially since I loved how those photos came out way more than those 'professional headshots' I took at my postponed appointment later in August. I didn't even bother purchasing any, but the ones my friend took, there's a few I would love to blow up and frame somwhere.)
For the virtual ceremony itself, York gave its graduates the option to send in photos of ourselves to be included in our 'slide' for when they called everyone's names.
I initially planned to use the graduation headshot I was meant to have in the studio before everything was postponed at the last minute, so that was no longer an option.
Then the robe I bought on Amazon wasn't due to arrive till long after the deadline to send in the virtual ceremony headshots, so without any professional photo to send in, or anything graduation related to throw on, I just decided to take the photos myself with my phone and tripod.
With some quick editing to remove the cluttered background, no one was the wiser that I took the picture on an apartment floor. Rather, (I think) it looked like a studio headshot.
Before, and after. Who'd have known.
The upside of doing it on my own (aside from it being my last resort option) was getting to take all the time I needed; All the shots I wanted in case I didn't like how they turned out, and the ultimate plus side: Not a single cent was spent.
On Tuesday June 29th, 2021, I finally became an officially recognized graduate of York University, in Toronto, Canada, after four long years of pursuing my Bachelor's degree.
Four yeas ago I never imagined that I would be attending my graduation ceremony from my bed, through a Youtube livestream, but if it's one thing this life is, it is unpredictable.
In the weeks leading up to the virtual ceremony, York had sent out our diplomas via mail.
Yes, my degree came in a bright red York Box.
Inside was also my certificate I got for Bilingualism in French and English - an achievement I set out to earn, having attended York's bilingual campus.
There was also a keepsake from my college: Glendon, which I think was a charger, (to this day I'm still not 100% sure), some red confetti/streamers and the graduation cap.
One of the definite upsides to having an online graduation, was that my friends from back home, in addition to my parents, family and other friends were able to log onto the livestream and basically, attend my graduation.
While it was a bit upsetting to not have my parents physically there with me on my graduation day like I'd always dreamed, they were still able to watch my name be announced, and in a way, I'd call that a small win.
They also had a live chat going, and my family and friends sent in so many loving messages and congratulations. It almost made up for everything being entirely online.
The sweetest messages from some of the people who make up my support system. ❤️
(Sorry they're not super clear, they're all snapshots from videos I was taking throughout since the livestream comments were going by a mile a minute.)
The moment itself when they called my name, was literally two seconds.
The names were being called out in alphabetical order, in the alphabetical order of the programs people were graduating from. As an International Studies graduate, the wait wasn't too long.
As my luck would have it, they called out my entire government name. Boy oh boy.
But this was my big two-second moment on the YouTube livestream!
And then the entire ceremony was over by 12pm and it was back to everyone's regularly scheduled program.
As someone who has had their fair share of imposter syndrome experiences, those moments when you truly get to feel like the accomplishments you made, are actually your own.. to be recognized for the work you put in.. to acknowledge all the highs and lows you endured that contributed to your achievement - having that in-person ceremony moment would've really solidified the achievement feeling for me personally.
You know, that chance to experience the emotions that come achieving another milestone in this life, to feel that gratitude of having made it through.
Especially as an international student, who packed their whole life up and moved thousands of miles away from my family, my friends and my comfort space, to continue my education abroad, paying thousands of dollars, as many of us international students have done.
The "big day" was lacking in its achievement feeling capacity for me.
As much, and as hard as we try.. in some cases, the online scene just isn't as impactful as it is in person.
It was a really anti-climactic season finale to the University season of the "Maya's life." show. I still can't believe my university journey finished on such a strange note.
However, I did still feel that sense of pride hearing my name be called, and pronounced correctly! Bachelor of Arts with Honours.
Overall I'd say, aside from all that's been thrown at me these last two-three years, I still met a number of the expectations, and worked towards numerous achievements I set out for myself back when I first started university in 2017. The experiences I've had since first moving to Canada have provided me with so much more aside from academic growth and achievement.
I've surprised myself at how hard I pushed in some areas, where years ago, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, especially in social environments, where I've personally diagnosed myself as being someone who has extreme chronic shyness, if that were even a thing.
I feel like I can truly say that I've experienced the all-rounded type growth they say you may experience in university/post-secondary settings, which was not slowed down or that significantly impacted by the pandemic, rather it provided another branch to grow and venture out of.
These pictures below are just a quick side by side comparison of me in first year of university in 2017 during orientation week, and then as an official graduate, 4 years later in 2021.
There are two different people in these pictures. That's thanks to new and improved mindsets, mistakes made, lessons learned which led to experiences that contributed to my growth and who I am today, and I'm so grateful for everything I've learned at York, both academic and otherwise.
I'm really excited to see where the next steps take me as I continue learning about the person I'm becoming, in addition to continuously learning about the city of Toronto which has become my new home-away-from-home.
To all the 2020 and 2021 graduates,
CONGRATULATIONS
on your achievements!
Congrats on your milestone!
Congrats on crossing the imaginary Youtube Stage!
Congrats on making it through one of the most confusing, stressful and uncertain academic years to date.
To have completed our degrees during a global pandemic, and entirely online, it was not easy, but we've made it to the end of the road, and the resilience and adaptability we've shown through these uneasy times are a true testament to what we are capable of!
Wishing everyone the best in their future endeavours!
Yours truly,
Maya Hinds; Bilingual Bachelor of Arts with Honours in International Studies with a Certificate of Bilingualism in French and English.
York University, Glendon College Alumna, Graduating class of 2021.
Talk to me nice.
Here's a look at some of my personal, professional graduation photos courtesy of the top notch photographer himself, @ForTheSakeofLenses on Instagram.
Swipe to see four of my favourites.
Here's to hoping whenever I decide to go back to school for my masters, I'll actually get to experience an in-person Canadian graduation ceremony when I'm meant to. *Fingers crossed*
See ya York University!
Check out part 2 of this graduation themed post: "Graduating!.. During a global pandemic: Returning to campus for an in-person Alumni Ceremony" here!