{"id":91634,"date":"2021-05-08T15:06:28","date_gmt":"2021-05-08T19:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=91634"},"modified":"2021-05-08T16:24:33","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T20:24:33","slug":"commencement-crowns-challenging-year-for-class-of-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021\/05\/08\/commencement-crowns-challenging-year-for-class-of-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement Crowns Challenging Year for Class of 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sandra Vasquez\u2019s cap said it all: \u201cSometimes I cried. Sometimes I doubted. But I never gave up.\u201d Written in Spanish, the subject Vasquez studied at the University of Mary Washington, the glittery message on her mortarboard summed up the year. But the moment, she said, felt \u201csurreal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s crazy. You go through school for so long and just don\u2019t expect it to end,\u201d said Daniela Sarai Chacon, who majored in biology and minored in Spanish. \u201cAn in-person graduation is a light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-carousel-extra='{&quot;blog_id&quot;:7,&quot;permalink&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/08\\\/commencement-crowns-challenging-year-for-class-of-2021\\\/&quot;,&quot;likes_blog_id&quot;:230672515}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\" > <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 488px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"488\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 367px; height: 488px;\" data-original-width=\"367\" data-original-height=\"488\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/unknown-4-4\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"363\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"484\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91623\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"1512,2016\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone XR&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620462222&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.25&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;25&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00184162062615&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4-225x300.jpeg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4-768x1024.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4.jpeg?w=363&#038;h=484&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4.jpeg 1512w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4-225x300.jpeg 225w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4-768x1024.jpeg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4-855x1140.jpeg 855w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-4-450x600.jpeg 450w\" width=\"363\" height=\"484\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"363\" data-original-height=\"484\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"The message on Spanish major Sandra Vasquez&#039;s cap translates to: &quot;Sometimes I cried. Sometimes I doubted. But I never gave up!&quot;\" style=\"width: 363px; height: 484px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> The message on Spanish major Sandra Vasquez&#8217;s cap translates to: &#8220;Sometimes I cried. Sometimes I doubted. But I never gave up!&#8221; <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 367px; height: 488px;\" data-original-width=\"367\" data-original-height=\"488\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/unknown-1-8\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"363\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"484\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91622\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"1512,2016\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone XR&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620462476&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.25&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;25&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0045871559633&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1-225x300.jpeg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1-768x1024.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1.jpeg?w=363&#038;h=484&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1.jpeg 1512w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1-855x1140.jpeg 855w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1-450x600.jpeg 450w\" width=\"363\" height=\"484\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"363\" data-original-height=\"484\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Biology major Daniela Sarai Chacon &#039;21 (left) and Spanish major Sandra Vasquez &#039;21 met at Mary Washington and became fast friends.\" style=\"width: 363px; height: 484px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Biology major Daniela Sarai Chacon &#8217;21 (left) and Spanish major Sandra Vasquez &#8217;21 met at Mary Washington and became fast friends. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 366px; height: 488px;\" data-original-width=\"366\" data-original-height=\"488\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/unknown-28\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"362\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"484\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91624\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"1512,2016\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone XR&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620462199&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.25&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;40&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00819672131148&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-225x300.jpeg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-768x1024.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown.jpeg?w=362&#038;h=484&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown.jpeg 1512w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-225x300.jpeg 225w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-768x1024.jpeg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-855x1140.jpeg 855w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/Unknown-450x600.jpeg 450w\" width=\"362\" height=\"484\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"362\" data-original-height=\"484\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"The message on the cap of biology major Daniela Sarai Chacon, who minored in Spanish, translates to: &quot;Parents, when you see me fly, remember that you painted my wings.&quot;\" style=\"width: 362px; height: 484px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> The message on the cap of biology major Daniela Sarai Chacon, who minored in Spanish, translates to: &#8220;Parents, when you see me fly, remember that you painted my wings.&#8221; <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div>\n<p>The two best friends, who met at Mary Washington, were among members of UMW\u2019s Class of 2021 who walked across the Commencement stage this weekend. For this group of students \u2013 nearly 1,200 strong \u2013 the event signifies the successful completion of college careers and a turbulent year that tested us all, with racial unrest, political angst and a global pandemic. Ongoing concerns about COVID-19 caused the celebration to be split into a sextet of ceremonies, but there was one central theme.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour class will undoubtedly go down in the annals of Mary Washington history,\u201d President Troy Paino said. He acknowledged the many ways UMW\u2019s 2021 graduates have proven their perseverance, beginning when the University switched to remote learning last spring through the uncertainty of their graduation plans.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-carousel-extra='{&quot;blog_id&quot;:7,&quot;permalink&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/08\\\/commencement-crowns-challenging-year-for-class-of-2021\\\/&quot;,&quot;likes_blog_id&quot;:230672515}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\" > <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 504px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"504\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 724px; height: 504px;\" data-original-width=\"724\" data-original-height=\"504\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021gradsumw014\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"720\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"500\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91630\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1779\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620482810&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;104&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-300x208.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-1024x712.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-scaled.jpg?w=720&#038;h=500&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-300x208.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-1024x712.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-768x534.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-1536x1068.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-2048x1423.jpg 2048w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-1140x792.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW014-600x417.jpg 600w\" width=\"720\" height=\"500\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"720\" data-original-height=\"500\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Graduates processed in from Sunken Road, waving to family and friends sitting in pods, eager to cheer them on. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.\" style=\"width: 720px; height: 500px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Graduates processed in from Sunken Road, waving to family and friends sitting in pods, eager to cheer them on. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-2\" style=\"width: 376px; height: 504px;\" data-original-width=\"376\" data-original-height=\"504\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021gradsumw076\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"372\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"248\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91632\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620485305&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-scaled.jpg?w=372&#038;h=248&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-680x453.jpg 680w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-1140x760.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW076-600x400.jpg 600w\" width=\"372\" height=\"248\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"372\" data-original-height=\"248\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Eagle Pipe Band leader Lauren McMillan, who is also an associate professor of historic preservation at UMW, and drummer Helen Sande march the newly minted grads off the field. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.\" style=\"width: 372px; height: 248px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Eagle Pipe Band leader Lauren McMillan, who is also an associate professor of historic preservation at UMW, and drummer Helen Sande march the newly minted grads off the field. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi. <\/div> <\/div> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021gradsumw010\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"372\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"248\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91625\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620482701&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;25&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-scaled.jpg?w=372&#038;h=248&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-680x453.jpg 680w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-1140x760.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW010-600x400.jpg 600w\" width=\"372\" height=\"248\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"372\" data-original-height=\"248\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Campus Police Chief Mike Hall extends waves and well wishes to graduates as they process onto the Campus Recreation Field. All of his officers played key roles in the ceremonies. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.\" style=\"width: 372px; height: 248px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Campus Police Chief Mike Hall extends waves and well wishes to graduates as they process onto the Campus Recreation Field. All of his officers played key roles in the ceremonies. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div>\n<p>Relocated from its traditional site on Ball Circle to accommodate pandemic guidelines, this year\u2019s Commencement was held on the 11,000-square foot Campus Recreation Field adjacent to U.S. 1. Nine ceremonies \u2013 three Thursday and Friday, May 6 and 7, for the Class of 2020, and six Saturday and Sunday, May 8 and 9, for the Class of 2021 \u2013 were planned.<\/p>\n<p>Sharing the stage with Paino were Provost Nina Mikhalevsky; Alumni Association president Jenifer Blair \u201982; student, faculty and Board of Visitors representatives; and Department of Theatre Director of Marketing and Audience Services Jon Reynolds, the official reader of names.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the course of the weekend, 2021 graduates Anna Beth Tanner, Zanab Farooq, Rachel McVicker and Alexander Lee joined the platform party to welcome their peers, as did BOV members Princess Moss, Heather Crislip, Marty Abbott and Devon Cushman. Faculty representatives included Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss, Associate Professor of Business Chris Garcia, Department of Communication and Digital Studies Chair Anand Rao, Department of Music Chair Brooks Kuykendall, Department of English Chair Gary Richards and Assistant Professor of English Ray Levy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-carousel-extra='{&quot;blog_id&quot;:7,&quot;permalink&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/08\\\/commencement-crowns-challenging-year-for-class-of-2021\\\/&quot;,&quot;likes_blog_id&quot;:230672515}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\" > <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 362px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"362\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 584px; height: 362px;\" data-original-width=\"584\" data-original-height=\"362\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021gradsumw024\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"580\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"358\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91626\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1580\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620483103&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;120&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-300x185.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-1024x632.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-scaled.jpg?w=580&#038;h=358&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-300x185.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-1024x632.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-768x474.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-1536x948.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-2048x1264.jpg 2048w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-250x155.jpg 250w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-1140x704.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW024-600x370.jpg 600w\" width=\"580\" height=\"358\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"580\" data-original-height=\"358\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"President Troy Paino spoke about the many ways the Class of 2021 was tested throughout the last year. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.\" style=\"width: 580px; height: 358px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> President Troy Paino spoke about the many ways the Class of 2021 was tested throughout the last year. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 516px; height: 362px;\" data-original-width=\"516\" data-original-height=\"362\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021gradsumw030\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"512\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"358\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91627\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1787\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620483480&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;127&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0015625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-300x209.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-1024x715.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-scaled.jpg?w=512&#038;h=358&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-300x209.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-1024x715.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-768x536.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-1536x1072.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-2048x1430.jpg 2048w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-1140x796.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW030-600x419.jpg 600w\" width=\"512\" height=\"358\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"512\" data-original-height=\"358\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"&quot;Finishing college during a global pandemic has provided us with strong answers to the interview question, &#039;Tell me about a challenge you faced?&#039;&quot; said 2021 student representative Anna Beth Tanner as she addressed her peers, whom she praised for their &quot;perseverance, courage and strength.&quot; Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.\" style=\"width: 512px; height: 358px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> &#8220;Finishing college during a global pandemic has provided us with strong answers to the interview question, &#8216;Tell me about a challenge you faced?'&#8221; said 2021 student representative Anna Beth Tanner as she addressed her peers, whom she praised for their &#8220;perseverance, courage and strength.&#8221; Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div>\n<p>In his speech, Paino encouraged the graduates to reflect on the unwavering support they\u2019ve received from family and friends, as well as faculty, advisors and mentors they have found at UMW. He also reminded them that this moment was only the beginning of their journeys. \u201cIf \u2026 you ever need a sense of belonging, a community where you will always matter, Mary Washington is always here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tanner echoed those sentiments as she presented the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award, established in 1999 through private donations and presented to the faculty member that the graduating class \u201cwill most likely remember as the one who had the greatest impact on their lives.\u201d College of Business Professor Kashef Majid received the honor, Tanner said, for making his classes \u201cnot only fun and engaging, but also extremely pertinent to real world situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca Brawner, who received her bachelor\u2019s degree Thursday and her master\u2019s of education degree this morning, found a bright spot in a difficult year. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned a lot about technology,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely been challenging but worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Economics major Greg Oh agrees. \u201cIt was rough at first, but we soon adapted \u2026 and here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-carousel-extra='{&quot;blog_id&quot;:7,&quot;permalink&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/08\\\/commencement-crowns-challenging-year-for-class-of-2021\\\/&quot;,&quot;likes_blog_id&quot;:230672515}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\" > <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 368px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"368\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 550px; height: 368px;\" data-original-width=\"550\" data-original-height=\"368\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021\/05\/17\/umw-graduates-class-of-2021\/2021gradsumw123\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"546\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"364\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91629\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Stephanie Johnson holds up her mortar board, her kindergarten students signed it for her graduation ceremony on Saturday from UMW.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620491781&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;88&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-scaled.jpg?w=546&#038;h=364&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-680x453.jpg 680w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-1140x760.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW123-600x400.jpg 600w\" width=\"546\" height=\"364\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"546\" data-original-height=\"364\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Stephanie Johnson holds up her mortar board that her kindergarten students signed for her graduation ceremony, where she received a M.S. in elementary education from UMW. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.\" style=\"width: 546px; height: 364px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Stephanie Johnson holds up her mortar board that her kindergarten students signed for her graduation ceremony, where she received a M.S. in elementary education from UMW. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 550px; height: 368px;\" data-original-width=\"550\" data-original-height=\"368\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021gradsumw099\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"546\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"364\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91628\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1620486859&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;102&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.001&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-scaled.jpg?w=546&#038;h=364&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-680x453.jpg 680w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-1140x760.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/05\/2021GradsUMW099-600x400.jpg 600w\" width=\"546\" height=\"364\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"546\" data-original-height=\"364\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"\" alt=\"Donning decorated caps and colorful honors tassels, as well as the accessory of the year - protective masks - 2021 grads said goodbye to the Mary Washington campus and the friends they made over the last four years. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.\" style=\"width: 546px; height: 364px;\" \/> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Donning decorated caps and colorful honors tassels, as well as the accessory of the year &#8211; protective masks &#8211; 2021 grads said goodbye to the Mary Washington campus and the friends they made over the last four years. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div>\n<p>Despite the unusual set of circumstances that reshaped this year\u2019s ceremonies, the milestones were still filled with cherished customs, from the bagpipers and drummer that marched the newly minted grads off the field, to Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker helping make everyone\u2019s regalia look picture perfect.<\/p>\n<p>And of course, Mary Washington\u2019s <em>Alma Mater<\/em> made an appearance, performed at the end of the ceremony and quoted at the conclusion of Tanner\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of my favorite moments of the alma mater is \u2018Whene\u2019er we have to leave you, we never will forget, the lessons you have taught us, and all the friends we\u2019ve met,\u2019 \u201d Tanner said. \u201cI hope you will take these lessons and friends with you, as we walk forward into this new chapter of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>This story was written by Lisa Chinn Marvashti &#8217;92, interim director of Media and Public Relations, and Jill Graziano Laiacona &#8217;04, media relations manager.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sandra Vasquez\u2019s cap said it all: \u201cSometimes I cried. Sometimes I doubted. But I never gave up.\u201d Written in Spanish, the subject Vasquez studied at the University of Mary Washington, the glittery message on her mortarboard summed up the year. But the moment, she said, felt \u201csurreal.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s crazy. You go through school for so [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":705,"featured_media":91638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[14061,14944],"topics":[5144],"class_list":{"0":"post-91634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-commencement-2020","9":"tag-commencement-2021","10":"topic-news","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Commencement Crowns Challenging Year for Class of 2021 - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021\/05\/08\/commencement-crowns-challenging-year-for-class-of-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Commencement Crowns Challenging Year for Class of 2021\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sandra Vasquez\u2019s cap said it all: \u201cSometimes I cried. Sometimes I doubted. But I never gave up.\u201d Written in Spanish, the subject Vasquez studied at the University of Mary Washington, the glittery message on her mortarboard summed up the year. But the moment, she said, felt \u201csurreal.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s crazy. 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