Dionte Berry
Contributing Writer
dberry11@murraystate.edu
To spread positivity during these trying times Murray State senior Mirinda McClure posted pandemic themed graduation photos on Facebook.
“I wanted to spread some positivity surrounding graduating during a pandemic, instead of spreading more sadness,” McClure said.
The pictures were posted on an Andy Beshear meme page where they caught a lot of attention with the caption, “My ceremony is canceled but my hope is not.”
Because of COVID-19 many events have been canceled, one of those being graduations nationwide, and it has left seniors grieving. This motivated McClure to spread positivity with her graduation photos.
McClure came up with the pandemic themed graduation photo shoot while researching positive graduation caps.
“I wanted something pandemic themed because it only happens once in a lifetime,” McClure said. “If you had asked me a year ago if I would be wearing a mask and holding Lysol to take my graduation photos, I would have said that is insane.”
McClure is a mathematics major who will be graduating at the end of the spring semester.
Online classes have been a struggle in the past for McClure, but this transition has been smooth for her despite it happening suddenly.
“The majority of my professors were very understanding that our entire lives were flipped upside down, so they made the switch as easy as possible for everyone involved,” McClure said.
The online transition wasn’t painful for McClure, however she was sad to miss out on senior festivities.
“I feel like I missed out on my ‘lasts’ for it to be the end of my bachelor’s degree,” McClure said. “That relief of walking out of my last final will instead be just a walk back into my living room.”
Although the graduates may not be able to celebrate in person, McClure said it doesn’t mean they can’t celebrate together.
McClure is back home with her family which has been challenging, but despite the pandemic status they try to maintain a positive outlook.
“We try to find something in the near future to look forward to so that this doesn’t seem like it will last forever,” McClure said. “It gives a little ray of hope on a cloudy day.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has given many people gloomy outlooks, but McClure remembers it’s important to remember to laugh during these times and remember that they won’t last forever.
“I have been able to stay positive because I have hope of a better day to come,” McClure said. “I have hope that the new normal, while it probably will not look like it used to, will still bring us as a society back together.”
Despite the unexpected end to her bachelor’s degree journey it will not be the end of her college experience.
“After graduating, I am glad to say I am returning back to Murray State to get my master’s in business administration,” McClure said. “I look forward to rejoining everyone on campus in the fall.”