Reclaiming their time
2020 University of Idaho graduates return to campus year after pandemic lockdown to be part of annual ceremonial rite
They technically earned their degrees a year ago, but a special group of University of Idaho Vandals finally strode across the Kibbie Dome stage Saturday morning to make up for the graduation ceremony stolen from them by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of course, not all the graduates from 2020 decided to return to their alma mater for what is largely a symbolic step in the progression of their lives. But a few hundred did, including 24-year-old Blakely Frechette of Boise.
“I think I was so wrapped up in school that I wasn’t paying attention, so it startled me,” Frechette said of learning last spring that commencement ceremonies were canceled. “It made sense for the graduation, but it was kind of a bummer just because school was such a hard time for me. It was hard to not close that chapter and get to celebrate it.”
Cody Frei, of Grange-ville, acknowledged that graduation often means more to the families than to the graduates themselves. In fact, he probably wouldn’t have chosen to participate if not for the urging of his parents.
“I wasn’t going to when mom first called me,” Frei, 24, said of his mother, Kristie Frei. “Then Dad called me and told me Mom really wanted me to walk. So I’m here.”
Frei expressed appreciation for the university officials who made the effort to stage an extra ceremony just for the class of 2020. In a change from the usual mass pomp and circumstance, the UI staged this year’s commencement in several different ceremonies over several different days to allow for social distancing. The ceremony for the 2020 grads was followed by one at 1 p.m. for the colleges of Engineering and Natural Sciences and another at 5 p.m. for the colleges of Law and Graduate Studies.
Moscow commencement continues today with three more ceremonies to cover the colleges of Business and Economics; Science; Agricultural and Life Sciences; Art and Architecture; Education; Health and Human Sciences; and Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. The university’s Boise and Idaho Falls campuses will have their own respective outdoor ceremonies later this week.
Nikolas Foster, a 22-year-old from Boise who finished his bachelor’s degree in secondary education last year, said the end of last year was disappointing because he and his friends missed out on end-of-year campus activities and events. But the ultimate letdown was that his family wouldn’t get to see him graduate. They still weren’t able to attend this year’s make-up ceremony, but Foster said his mom, dad, sister and grandma would be watching the livestream back home in Boise.
“I’m excited to go across the stage and finally do it, even though I have the real (degree) in the mail, finally,” Foster said.
UI Dean of Students and Vice Provost for Student Affairs Blaine Eckles delivered the commencement address for the 2020 grads. He emphasized how well the class rolled with the gut punch of the pandemic, and tipped his mortar board to their accomplishment in the face of adversity.
“The fact that you are here today is a testament to you and your generation,” Eckles said. “And, quite frankly, it reinforces in me how resilient and strong you truly are. As we all learned, life plans have a way of changing. That post-graduation travel that you had planned last year? Canceled. That one job you had once you completed your degree? Gone due to COVID cutbacks. Even that puppy you wanted after graduation last year? They were all adopted. It seems like everybody in the world wanted either a dog or a cat for comfort during the global shutdown.”
Frei, Frechette and Foster have all successfully moved on from college, in spite of the deja vu of being back on campus Saturday. Foster has a long-term substitute position at a Meridian middle school, and will apply for a permanent teaching with the Boise School District next week. Frechette is a software engineer at Micron in Boise, where she was able to rejoin a team of engineers she got to know during two internships. And Frei has decided to continue his education, building on his bachelor’s degree in wildlife resources to pursue a career as a physician’s assistant.
And they all stood by their decisions to undertake the trek back to Moscow and make their academic careers officially official.
“I figured that I only really want to walk once,” Frechette said. “I don’t plan on coming back to school for a master’s, so I figured to celebrate my accomplishment, I might as well.”
Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.
