By Jarrett Whitehead
On May 9, 2020, the University of Louisville held its first-ever all-virtual graduation ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the end of the Spring semester approaches, it will be six years since the historic decision for the University where students did not walk the stage.
Now, a couple of students from that class share their experience and the challenges that came with entering the career field post-COVID graduation.
Jacob Miller, Senior AI Engineer at PredictiveIQ and U of L 2020 graduate, shares his thoughts on the struggles with career opportunities after receiving his bachelor’s.
“It definitely affected the job search immediately,” he said. “From what I remember, everyone from my class turned out pretty well career-wise, but I think it made it generally more difficult to get going. A lot of those rotational and young engineer programs got shut down, so I think it just made early career starts more difficult.”
Miller decided to earn his doctorate after seeing the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If the economy hadn’t kind of blown up, I might not have done my doctorate,” he said. “I might’ve taken a different job or kept job hunting.”
Many students in the class of 2020 had scheduled interviews and career opportunities that fell through just before graduation. With no walking ceremony, it felt like a straight dive into the already struggling job market.
Peyton Paulson, a lead lean process engineer at Boeing and member of the 2020 U of L class, experienced the same shortage of career opportunities post-graduation.
“I had a lot of interviews, and they seemed to be going well,” she said. “I was expecting some offers, and then a lot of the chemical engineering companies quit hiring and did a hiring freeze.”
For Paulson, networking wass the next best option .
“I was at a Society of Women Engineers conference, and I got some contacts for a company called ABB, so I was still able to find a job and everything,” said Paulson.
The 2020 virtual commencement had a share of its own positives and negatives.
“We did miss out on walking and all of that, but I think it was kind of unique in the sense, at least for me,” she said. “It was kind of a nice pausing point where you could just have some time to reflect. It kind of stunk not being able to be around your classmates you were graduating with, but I also look back on that time and have really good memories.”
The class of 2026 will be walking the stage at the KFC Yum Center on May 9 for the Spring commencement ceremonies honoring more than 2,500 graduates.
