’20 UConn grads have their day
UConn 2020 grads finally have their day with commencement at Rentschler Field
After the pandemic forced last year’s UConn graduates to settle for virtual commencement ceremonies, the university takes advantage of loosening restrictions to allow the Class of 2020 to be honored at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
Standing outside the stadium at Rentchler Field on Saturday, Eloise Felton basked in the sight of her of grandson, a graduate in blue wearing stoles representing his academic excellence, studies abroad and his African American heritage. It was the moment Diante Felton, a first-generation college student from Chicago, had been waiting for since last spring, when UConn — like most colleges — canceled its in-person commencement amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Saturday, UConn started five days of in-person graduation ceremonies with a long-awaited one for its 2020 graduates, bringing relief and pride to thousands of families like the Feltons.
“It means a lot to me because I get to complete the four-years journey, and this occasion that not many get to see,” said Diante Felton, a business and management major who hopes to work on diversity and inclusion in human resources and recruitment. “I’m grateful and blessed I was able to have this opportunity.”
Graduates loosely filled the stands inside the stadium and waved to friends and family from the field, the letters “UCONN” mowed into the grass. For some, commencement was a time for reunions after more than a year apart.
In the concourse, a political science major let out a quiet, “Jonathan!” as he beelined for UConn’s canine mascot. Sean Oppenheimer, 21, of Fairfield used to see the husky on morning walks to the bus, but those ended early in the pandemic.
Only a fraction of UConn’s 2020 graduates came out to East Hartford on Saturday, leaving plenty of room for a socially distanced ceremony. UConn awarded 8,912 degrees last May, including 6,335 bachelor’s degrees and 1,877 master’s.
The class also included the university’s first Rhodes Scholar, environmental sciences major Wanjiku Gatheru, and the most Goldwater
“It means a lot to me because I get to complete the four-years journey, and this occasion that not many get to see. I’m grateful and blessed I was able to have this opportunity.”
Scholars in UConn’s history.
Students mostly watched last year’s virtual commencement from their living rooms at home, a lackluster end to a bizarre, abbreviated senior year.
Twins Braden and Austin Frandino, both music majors, made the most of the day, popping a bottle of champagne with their parents, who’d hung graduation decorations from the fireplace in their New York home.
Kiana Foster-Mauro’s mother, grandmother and great-grandmother watched with the 22-year-old elementary education major as she became the first in her family to graduate college.
Nadeige Bailey, another first-generation graduate, said she cried on her couch last May as she watched her name flash across her computer screen “for like two seconds.” That was the culmination of her two-year, sports management graduate program.
“You missed out on the experience,” Bailey said Saturday as she prepared to head into
—Diante Felton, a business and management major
Rentschler Field. “We worked so hard on our master’s, so to not be able to close out the chapter was bittersweet.”
Saturday’s commencement changed all that. She smiled against the morning rain wearing a cap decorated with flowers — yellow to match her tassel — and one of her favorite scriptures, “She laughs without fear of the future.”
“It’s also applicable with COVID because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bailey said.
Personalized mortarboards dotted the stadium: “Magic School Bus” and planet Earth designs worn by future teachers, the words “Law school? Beyond a reasonable doubt!” written on the cap of a future attorney.
The latter was worn by Andrew Dubsky, 23, of Natick, Massachusetts, who is already through his first year of Boston College Law School.
“We all kind of moved on, but we get to celebrate that we finished together,” he said.
Katie Amara, 23, of Chester had a similar view on her bachelor’s in animal science, which she’s now following up with a four-year program at Tufts University.
“I have a whole new life now at Tufts, but I feel like I just wanted closure on this,” she said.
Amara’s dad, Ron, was overjoyed. He wore the UConn sweater Katie got for his birthday and met her outside the stadium with a hug and a teal-colored cord.
“I saved it in her old room for just this occasion, in case we had a graduation,” he said. “I did a lot of praying and a lot of hoping.”
Ron Amara also called the university a couple of times, urging that a commencement be held. On Saturday, he took in the sight of hundreds of graduates in their robes, knowing all of them are, like Katie, a year into their new lives post-COVID-19 and post-degree.
“To see all the kids here all dressed up, for them to come back, it shows it means a lot for them,” he said.
Foster-Mauro, of Groton, had more regalia than most Saturday, multiple stoles, a half-dozen cords and the silver honor’s medal she earned for her thesis on multiracial representation in children’s picture books.
She and Damayanti Rane-Castrodad, 22, of Mystic will also be back Wednesday — they both completed master’s programs during the pandemic after earning their bachelor’s degrees in elementary education in 2020.
But Saturday was about that first milestone, and the walk across the stage for their families.
“To be able to celebrate with everybody together is really exciting,” said Rane-Castrodad.
Back in May, she took her family on a nostalgic tour of the Storrs campus. But there’s one more bit of closure she’d like to get, pizza from McMahon Dining Hall or maybe chicken tenders from South, once things are all back to normal.
Fortunately, she has a little brother at UConn she can visit.
“Listen,” Rane-Castrodad said, “nobody likes the dining hall food, but one last swipe into the dining hall to enjoy my favorite food.”