Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,
As you may have heard, last week Fr. John shared an update on this spring’s Commencement. After consulting with public health officials, the University is currently planning to host an in-person ceremony for the Class of 2021, together with a limited number of family members and guests.
Fr. John also announced that plans for the Class of 2020’s postponed Memorial Day Weekend celebration have been pushed to summer 2022, given the risks involved in bringing not only select family members, but also the graduates themselves back to campus. Additionally, our two weekends of in-person Reunion will instead be hosted virtually this summer. So much of the work that we do centers around building relationships and welcoming our alumni and friends back to campus, so it is, of course, disappointing to not be able to do that for the second consecutive year. Yet, as all of us have for the past 11 months, we will continue to adapt and to seek new ways to build and maintain those connections, and our team is hard at work planning the virtual celebration.
During the early weeks of the pandemic, Zoom happy hours and FaceTime calls with old friends seemed to be a near daily occurrence. While technology has been a gift, allowing us to see our loved ones while we can’t physically be together, I’m sure many of us have experienced screen fatigue at some point since last March. What are some of the unique ways you’ve found to continue to stay close to your ND friends? We would love to hear stories of how you’re staying connected as we continue to navigate this season of life.
Yours in Notre Dame,