May is a time for 鈥淐elebration!鈥� Typically, and psychologically, we think of May as
the end of the quest, the point at which a goal has either been achieved (think high
school and college graduations) or the point at which another begins (May is one of
the most common months for weddings).
For the College of Fine Arts, it is a bittersweet time of celebration. Certainly,
it is a time to look back at the achievements of the academic year, and to celebrate
the achievements of our graduates as they leave us to go out into the world. But each
student who leaves us takes with them a piece of our hearts as we mourn the passing
of the time they have shared with us.
As we draw to the close of an academic year like no other, that departure has a particular
poignancy to it. We will say goodbye to this year鈥檚 graduates, and we will wish them
well in all their endeavors. But there is a part of us that wishes we could give them
back a year of normalcy--to have the opportunity to teach them, train them, and mentor
them without the chaotic interruption that this pandemic has caused. Yet at the same
time, we know that because they have endured such challenging times and prevailed,
our memories of them will be eternally etched in our hearts and minds like no class
before them.
We wish them all that life has to offer. They deserve that and so much more.
