I’ve watched so many movies about people in college. When I was in high school, I read young adult novels where twenty-somethings at liberal arts schools had meet-cutes and clarity. Those characters seemed hopeful and prepared, like they had always known exactly how their life would go.
But for me, and many others, school has been a collection of stops and starts. Community college, associate’s degree, transferring to a four-year school and then, of course, the unforeseeable pandemic. As the world navigated a global health crisis, my classmates and I moved home for the remainder of the semester. We said goodbye to our campus and days spent with each other, wondering if we’d ever be able to return again.
As a result, the pandemic affected a lot of college students’ plans, work, motivation and preparation for the future. Undergraduate enrollment dropped by 3.6% compared to 2019, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
For Michael Longworth, ‘21, his four years spent at NCC have been a time of growth and self-reflection. He began his first year studying Spanish and education, then pivoted to Spanish and international business and shortly after, landed on Spanish and human resource management.
By junior year, Longworth settled on attending law school after undergrad. After his final major switch, he said he finally felt ready to start preparing for life beyond college.
“It was something that I thought about before, but I’d kind of given into a lot of imposter syndrome, thinking I couldn’t do it,” Longworth said. “So I never let myself imagine a career in law. But then sophomore year, I started to think, ‘Why not?’”
But Longworth never anticipated having to take the LSAT remotely or apply to law schools in isolation. He was among the second round of prospective law students that took the exam online and was feeling the pressure. Longworth completed the test in an office space at NCC, but in the middle of a section, Longworth was disconnected from the server.
“I’m sure that my proctor, if they, like, watched my video back, saw absolute panic for 30 seconds,” Longworth said. “It did kick me out of my exam, but I sent a frantic message, and finally someone was able to get me back in. It thankfully saved all of my progress but it didn’t stop the timer, so I lost eight minutes on the hardest section of the exam.”
When the test ended, Longworth took a deep breath and silently decided he’d never take the LSAT again. Thankfully, he didn’t have to. Because after endless nights of studying, a few 39 40 technical errors and a frenzied phone call, he was happy with his score and started applying to law schools as soon as he could. Things worked out.
“I’ve narrowed it down to Marquette University and University of Oregon,” Longworth said. “So I will hopefully be in either Milwaukee or Eugene next year. I’m excited to move, have my own place and feel like a real adult.”
For theatre students, like Michelle Ortiz, ‘21, and Ariana Burks, ‘21, senior year was different and daunting. All slated productions for the year had to be performed virtually and new obstacles arose for which the old rules didn’t apply.
Ortiz had to quickly learn how to do light design projects over Zoom, like for the fall 2020 production “How I Learned To Drive,” tweaking small details until her vision came to life. “
You’re just figuring it out as you go, like ‘OK, turn that light on, or eh, turn it off, or OK, now turn around!’” Ortiz said. “But it’s also nice that everyone is figuring it out at the same time. As frustrating as it can be, it’s also incredibly rewarding when it turns out the way you want.”
Ortiz also said this time has given her space to think, find gaps in her portfolio that need to be filled and search for internships and acting auditions for after graduation. While talking about these plans, Ortiz started laughing, “I also want to be a live-in nanny,” she said. “That’s random, but it’s something I’d like to do while looking for shows.”
Similarly, Burks had to draw a completely different road map for the year she thought she had completely figured out.
“I was booked throughout 2020 into early 2021,” Burks said. “Because all of those (acting) jobs got canceled, I kind of went through a phase where I was like, ‘Wow, am I going to do well in this field with everything going on now?’”
But the show must go on, and Burks has found new ways to channel her artistry.
“I’ve been able to be a part of some really cool workshops and other opportunities that are virtual,” Burks said. “I have hope things will get better. I’m still auditioning, just not in person right now.”
Ultimately, Burks wants to act for as long as she can, maybe sing and dance a bit along the way, too. She has plans for so far in advance, she says it’s become a running joke between her and her friends.
“When I’m older, I’d love to have my own casting company because I’m really passionate about breaking down those walls and barriers that trap people of color into certain roles and stereotypes so that more art is created by everybody, not just a select few,” said Burks.
Zacary Heren, ‘21, arrived at NCC from Joliet Junior College in 2018, studying computer science. By then, he still wasn’t totally sold on his major but didn’t know what to change it to.
“On a whim, I did radio, which isn’t something I’d normally do,” Heren said. “But being around other broadcast and media studies and journalism majors, I was like, ‘OK, yeah, this is more where I want to be.’”
Joey Ficarella ’20 (left) and Gracen Mylott ’23 using the new console during a live WONC broadcast. Courtesy of NCC.
He switched his major to interactive media studies, joined student organizations like Cardinal Public Relations that allowed him to shoot and edit video projects and found classes that catered to his interests in technology and creative storytelling.
“Even if we were totally normal, I’d say this was my busiest year,” Heren said. “I like everything I’m doing, and this is the first semester where that’s been the case.”
Heren already has a job lined up for after graduation and he’s hoping to continue working on his capstone project, a podcast on media and society, even after he’s said goodbye to NCC.
Eventually, everything ends, and then we move on to the next thing. And OK, so I missed some meet-cutes. And I definitely dodged clarity sometimes, especially when the world erupted during my second to last year of school. Making plans seemed impossible then. But college was special. I learned about myself, what I want and more importantly, what I need. And even though the question of “What’s next?” makes me feel totally bananas and afraid and intimidated, I made it.
We made it.
