Parents of the High School Class of 2017/College 2021

[robinb]

I am buying my daughter a pair of diamond earrings. They are something that she’ll be able to wear for a long time.

Her college hadn’t made a decision on if graduation will be in person or not. It’s up to the county and if they will allow enough people in one place (a 60,000 person football stadium) outside. We have dinner reservations for my DD, her boyfriend, his parents and grandparents. I hope that will we be able to have at least one jab by then. We’ll stick the kids between us if we don’t as they are the only ones in our “COVID pod”.

 

[laughinplace199]

We are going to give DD a plane ticket to anywhere she wants to go. She was doing a semester in Dublin when the pandemic hit and she had to come home two months early. She had been hoping to travel in Europe and also spend more time in Ireland, so a plane ticket (she can determine when and where) seems to be perfect for her.

We haven't heard if her graduation will be in person or virtual, but we have hotel reservations near school, just in case. Her school is really small, so we're hoping they'll be able to do it in person.

 

[JimMIA]

Our DD is just a freshman, but her university just announced in-person graduations as an option for Spring 2021 grads!

UCF is a very large school (almost 70,000 students), so each college will have their own ceremonies (plural). The in-person events will be full-on graduations, but will be socially distanced and only 2 guests per student are permitted. All events will be live-streamed. Here's a link:

https://knightnews.com/2021/03/ucf-to-host-in-person-spring-graduation-celebrations/

 

[bethbuchall]

We’re still waiting to hear if there is going to be any kind graduation ceremony. Fortunately, my son doesn’t really care if there is anything. We have relatives in the area, so we don’t need to worry about hotel rooms. We’re going to just go with the flow at this point. I feel bad for those that are really looking forward to graduation ceremonies, though.

 

[dreamin_disney]

DD graduates in May and it will be virtual. She said she’s ok with it and having to walk gives her anxiety. She just wants her degree lol! Hubby and I would love to see her walk but at this point safety first and what makes her happy.

Dd applied to one district so far for a teaching position. Her situation is kinda confusing. Her program is a 4 year . She is taking classes for her BA and her credential. At the end of 4 years she earns both. When she applied you need BA, credential , CSET, RICA and pas edTpa(whatever it’s called. Well she has the CSET . She filmed last week for edTpa and taking Rica barely tomorrow . I feel she’s in limbo because everything won’t be completed until May. She got an email saying she won’t be interview at this time and to keep checking for openings. When she applied she explained her situation so not sure how this works for her situation. She wants to take a year off but felt like we would be upset. I told her to try and see what happens she will get a teaching job or relax like she wants to. She’s worked so hard since 6th grade. She plans on getting some type of job . I told her I’m ok with her getting part time so she can recharge. But she’s willing to teach if she can get a job so leaving it in Gods hands.

we still need to figure out graduation cap and gown. She’s graduating with Honors so we get a school sash and honors sash. The university is renting out the gowns so not sure how I feel about that. Is there a good place to buy nice grad gown? Are y’all buying announcements from university or private company?

I think cap, rental gown, sash and 25 announcements is around $300 something. I think it includes sash. I feel like we are running behind for pictures.

on a positive note we saved housing money since April 2020 so to May 2021 about $ 11,000

I wanted to have a graduation party but dd doesn’t want one. She’s nervous about covid but I told her it will depend if numbers go down more(red tier close to orange) Plus we will be fully vaccinated at end of May. I figure if party is at end of June or in July we will be more protected. I was hoping a big party but probably just close family. It will depend on what she wants.

next 1-1/2 months are going to fly by fast. Dd is getting a little nervous but excited she’s almost finished.

 

[mamamary]

We just found out there will be in person graduation. They are taking good precautions. My daughter is surprised but she is happy. We really thought it would be virtual.

 

[lovin'fl]

My twins graduated in Dec and it was virtual.

The teacher DD is finding it tough to get a job. She is a long term sub right now and hoping for a permanent spot next year. Been crazy.

Accountant DD found a job right away and is WFH right now at our house in our basement apartment and saving up some bank.

Seems like just yesterday this thread was started. And a lot has happened since. Wild.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Over the last couple of weeks, our governor made some concessions for graduations. He will allow more people to attend outdoor graduation ceremonies. So now her school has decided to have a series of outdoor graduations during the last part of the semester, so all the kids are accommodated. They said something about possibly allowing families. So now we wait to find out dates, times, if families are allowed. So hard to plan for this!

 

[robinb]

My daughter's graduation is in person, but with no guests. There are too many of them for anyone to "walk" across the stage but they will all be there for the commencement. Her boyfriend also graduates, but from a different school. My DD graduates from the the School of Education and he graduates from the School of Letters and Sciences. They typically separate the graduates by school but I hope they can sit together. If they can't, I won't hear the end of it. Neither one really wants to go to graduation but I'm being a PITB. I want to see them graduate and I want them to be there, even if I have to watch it on TV. She gets a diploma on my dime and I want something for my $100,000!

We are renting a gown from the bookstore. I need to coordinate that with my DD. I don't know if she has earned an Honors stole. The top 20% graduates in the School of Education graduates with Honors. She's been on the Dean's List every semester after her rocky freshman year so she might have made it. However, looking at previous years' grades, I have a feeling there has been some grade inflation with Covid so maybe everyone else did well too. I don't have access to her college portal so I'll have to ask her this weekend.

I'm not sure about announcements. We didn't do any for high school graduation but I think we will do some for college. I'm thinking about hiring a professional photographer to take photos of both kids.

 

[laughinplace199]

We just found out that DD will be graduating in person! It will be outdoors and she can have 2 guests. She said she ordered her cap and gown, but gave no details as to if she's renting, buying, etc. The job hunt is slow, but she's super busy with schoolwork - they have to write and defend a thesis to graduate, so that's keeping her very busy.

 

[Tinijocaro]

We are taking her to Japan in 2022 since 2021 is not viable with the pandemic. We are going as a family and it’s her dream destination so it’s her graduation gift

I'd love to hear your plans. We lived in Tokyo in 1992 for six months and went back summer of 2019 for our 30th anniversary. We toured Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Tokyo. No matter what, if you go to Tokyo, be sure to go to the TeamLab Digital Art Museum. An absolutely incredible experience.

 

[punkin]

DNiece is going to actually have a graduation! Only 2 people allowed. DH and I will be fully vaccinated and she will have had both shots (still within the two weeks) so I think we're going to do it. I'm so happy. DD graduated last year and they had nothing.

 

[Tinijocaro]

We are taking her to Japan in 2022 since 2021 is not viable with the pandemic. We are going as a family and it’s her dream destination so it’s her graduation gift

I'd love to hear your plans. We lived in Tokyo in 1992 for six months and went back summer of 2019 for our 30th anniversary. We toured Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Tokyo. No matter what, if you go to Tokyo, be sure to go to the TeamLab Digital Art Museum. An absolutely incredible experience.

This is the last semester for many of us. How is everyone holding up?

My DD is scheduled to graduate in May. She made the Dean's List again (2 1/2 years straight after a rocky freshman year) and she has two interships set up. She is teaching an online dance class for people with Down's Syndrome. She took a class in Dance Therapy last year and *loved* it. She gave up dance in high school to focus on swimming so it's interesting that she's come full circle back to dance. She is also working for a local organization that helps with early autism diagnoses. She's going to be some kind of therapist but I'm not quite sure what she'll be doing. She needs these internships to graduate in her major. She's also taking Anatomy and Physiology II at the local community college because she needs it to apply for OT school. Her boyfriend needs to take at least one class this summer to complete his major but he too will graduate in May.

How does commencement look for everyone? I think that DD's will be virtual. I was hoping for in-person and I think that they could do it safely, but our county has pretty strict rules on the number of people who can congregate ... even outdoors. I am very bummed since I have been dreaming of "Jumping Around" in Camp Randall at my DD's graduation for years .

My DD now tells me that she is now planning to take two gap years instead of just one. We were completely onboard with a bum around the county "vanlife" single gap year and will even continue to give her a stipend. I'm not happy with the second gap year. She says that she doesn't want to even *think* about school for a year and that she will need to focus and apply to OT schools for the 2022 school year by December of this year. I get it, but I am worried that "life" will happen and she will never go onto grad school. She is so smart and continually surprises me with her abilities, so I am 80% sure she'll be OK and she'll go back to school after she's sowed her wild oats, but the other 20% is pretty darn loud in my ear right now. *sigh* Hopefully her second gap year on her own will solidify the need to get her OTD. Crappy jobs out of high school certainly did that for me and I was 22 when I went to college. If she's 23 when she goes to grad school that'll be fine .

My son took two years between undergrad and grad school. He didn't do it to travel though. He worked full as a cook while applying for jobs. He wasn't able to get a job in physics with just a bachelors. It really motivated him to go back and get his masters, in aerospace eng which he is finishing up this semester.



Good luck, you know her best.

 

[aprilgail]

My daughters graduation will be outside in Fenway Park- they are doing half the graduating class at a time and ONE guest can attend- sucks for kids who have 2 parents but it is fine for me. Not sure what I am doing for a graduation gift, she is interviewing for jobs to hopefully start right after graduation so can't plan any trip or anything.

 

[dreamin_disney]

My twins graduated in Dec and it was virtual.

The teacher DD is finding it tough to get a job. She is a long term sub right now and hoping for a permanent spot next year. Been crazy.

Seems like just yesterday this thread was started. And a lot has happened since. Wild.

My DD graduates in May and will earn her BA and credential through her special program. I don’t think she will get hired for 2021-2022 school year. The job posting say Degree, credential, Rica and CSET required. Dd applied and wrote a letter explaining she will get her BA and credential. Her proffesor or someone in charged wrote a letter explaining CSET, BA and that her credential will
Be sent or approved at the end of August. We are confused because district already posted opening and closed a week ago and some at the end of This March
Then her cohort just found out about their credential is a preliminaret credential and needs to be cleared. To clear it you do it with the district that hires you or if you don’t get hired you need to pay for a program. We are unclear but dd looked it up and it’s a two year program Doesn’t make sense to me. I wish we were told . If anyone know about it or has tips please let me know. She’s going to ask professor at next weeks class.

We just found out that DD will be graduating in person! It will be outdoors and she can have 2 guests. She said she ordered her cap and gown, but gave no details as to if she's renting, buying, etc. The job hunt is slow, but she's super busy with schoolwork - they have to write and defend a thesis to graduate, so that's keeping her very busy.

I wish my Dd school would do two guest. She’s our only child and first to graduate from college.

Dd ordered her cap and gown through Amazon. She ordered her tassel, school sash , honors sash and something else. She ordered things separate instead of the overpriced package university was selling. She didn’t order the traditional announcements. She said it’s cheaper just to order the picture announcements online somewhere She feels bad having us to pay money for everything, even I set money aside for it.
Wishing your daughter and my daughter luck and hope they both find a job for the upcoming school year

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

My daughter’s pediatrician‘s office just called (yes, she still goes to her pediatrician for general health stuff and her yearly checkup. She also has a gynecologist at home and one at school). They have the covid vaccine and are offering vaccination appointments this Friday to their patients and inviting their parents to get vaccinated as well. DD is coming home this weekend for Easter, so I called her to ask if she wanted to come home a day early to get the vaccine. She jumped on it and has an appointment for Friday at 5:00! I’m a teacher, so I’m already fully vaccinated. I tried to get DH to get vaccinated with her, but he’s being difficult. I think his mom planted some crazy ideas in his head about the vaccine. At any rate, DD is psyched!!!!

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

The graduation announcements came on Saturday. DD is a little bit of a mess right now. I think her emotions are all over the place. Her internship offered her a job, which she accepted a couple of weeks ago. Then she had to let the other company know she was no longer going to take their position, which she accepted back in the Fall. She drug her feet, but finally talked to them on Thursday. They were actually very understanding. She’s been looking for VT roommates in Arlington, Va (the hot, happening spot for recent grads). She heard a couple girls from her friend group were looking for a 3rd person, so jumped in with them. But they want Reston (further from the city center and more family oriented), went to look at apartments in that area and it was DEAD! So now those girls want to look in Ashburn - serious suburbia - so unless she can convince them otherwise, she’s out. She found two 2020 VT girls looking for 2 more in Clarendon (her target area) but is dragging her feet. I think facing it means college is OVER, and she’s not ready for that. Luckily her job is remote for a while longer, so there is no hurry.

On one hand she wants to get settled in Arlington, but on the other she’s talking about spending the summer close to home (she’s reconnected with an old friend/boy here). She and her ex boyfriend are 100% done after 2.5 years (the last year of which she’s been on the fence and broke up with him 3 different times). There were some issues that she gave plenty of time and effort to rectify but in the end, it just didn’t work, and she was unhappy. So they broke up for good at the end of February. A few weeks later the childhood friend started snap chatting her. She’s know him since she was 5. He’s a triplet, and she was really close friends with his 2 sisters until they were all about 12 and went to separate schools/softball teams. We went on several vacations together as families when the kids were small. Turns out he’s grown up into a very handsome young man! He and DD have been communicating daily and have seen each other 3 weekends over the past 5 weeks. She really likes him, but she’s moving 2 hours away for her job. His sisters are both graduating from UVA in May and moving up to Arlington too. He was at the Merchant Marine Academy but realized last year that life at sea wasn’t for him. So he transferred to VCU to finish his engineering degree and will have 1 more year to go bc not everything transferred from his old school. So now she goes back and forth between 1) being giddy over him and 2) telling herself to shut it down due to a potential year of long distance dating. She totally overthinks things when she gets like this!!!! I told her to stop thinking and to just have fun!!!

She’s definitely going to graduate but one of her minors (International Studies - which is already printed on her announcements) is in jeopardy bc she is struggling to pass her Geography of Wine class. Seriously it’s a class the seniors take for fun. But apparently it’s quite a bit of work and she’s blown it off for too long. She may be able to pull out a D, but then her gpa takes a huge hit.

Arggggg!!!

At any rate, she’s driving us crazy!

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Just wanted to give a quick update to my post above. DD passed her wine class by the skin of her teeth. At first she told me there was no way she could mathematically pass the class. I told her she either 1) passed or 2) paid us back $6800 in tuition for the wasted semester bc she didn’t finish the IS minor or 3) paid $1500 to retake the class in summer school. All of a sudden she realized she’d miscalculated, and she worked hard to pass. Then she called me crying when she finished because she needed 900 points to pass and only got 898. This kid!!!! I told her to reach out to the professor and TA to see if there was any way to redo an assignment to get those 2 extra points. She did. The TA had her write a blog post about what she learned about wine and passed her. Good God! What an ordeal. Hopefully her other final grades are high enough to soften the blow to her gpa.

She also scored 2 extra tickets to her in person graduation ceremony for her grandparents. Because of covid, we were limited to 4 tickets but needed 6. Without tickets, they were going to watch the livestream from her house. She got an email from the university on Monday that extra tickets were being released at noon the next day with a limit of 2 extra tickets per student. She logged on right at 12:00 and got 2. It’s a good thing she did because all the extra tickets were claimed within 15 minutes.

How are your graduation plans coming? Are your kids starting to get melancholy about leaving college yet?

 

[aprilgail]

Heading up to Boston tomorrow for my daughters graduation Saturday Morning- on way home we are stopping off at Foxwoods casino for some gambling then she is coming back home with me for a few days. She got a job offer last week so she will be starting her new job in procurement the following week upstate- right now they are living in Stamford CT but they have been looking at houses in Westchester to rent and they found one they liked and put in an application to rent -3 other people also did so they are not sure they are getting the house yet!)

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Heading up to Boston tomorrow for my daughters graduation Saturday Morning- on way home we are stopping off at Foxwoods casino for some gambling then she is coming back home with me for a few days. She got a job offer last week so she will be starting her new job in procurement the following week upstate- right now they are living in Stamford CT but they have been looking at houses in Westchester to rent and they found one they liked and put in an application to rent -3 other people also did so they are not sure they are getting the house yet!)

Congratulations on your daughter’s job!!!