Marking a year of resilience, resolve, and romance
It was a graduation weekend like none other. For all the taxing moments that last year’s Commencement Committee navigated to stage fve separate exercises in one weekend, tensions melted like butter when graduates shared their reactions. The ceremonies included one for a group of senior athletes who were competing in championships and could not attend with their classmates, another for members of the Class of 2020 who returned a year later after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of their graduation, and three separate events for the Class of 2021 to accommodate social distancing guidelines. “I am so thankful that Mercyhurst wanted to do this for us,” said Daniel Leonard, who came from North Bethesda, Maryland, to graduate with the Class of 2020 on Saturday, May 15, at the Erie Insurance Arena. “It reassured me of what I had thought all along — that our values are the same.” Although a year had passed since he earned his undergraduate degree in hospitality management, Daniel made the trip to honor his father, who died in October 2019. “Dad instilled in me how important education is, and I know he would have wanted me to come back,” he said. “I did it for him.” Business major and volleyball player Tess Ganich had her own reasons for returning to Mercyhurst a year later. The 2019-2020 academic year had
come to an abrupt end, leaving little time for goodbyes. Members of the volleyball team rallied upon learning that Mercyhurst would proceed with an in-person graduation. “I just really wanted to see my friends again,” said Tess, who made the trip from Royal Oak, Michigan, where she works as a mortgage banker at Quicken Loans. “We got rooms together in a hotel and it’s just been really exciting to be reunited.” Although Mercyhurst dealt with the pandemic through resilience and resolve, romance blossomed for several couples intent on celebrating their love in spite of it. Nate and Becca Myers started dating as sophomores at Mercyhurst, where they both pursued education degrees and were active in Campus Ministry. They married in the midst of COVID on July 3, 2020, slashing a 300-person guest list to 30. Both said they were fortunate to have secured teaching jobs during the pandemic, ironically at the same inner-city school where Becca also recently won the “New Teacher of the Year” award. With life settled and a future seemingly secure, Nate and Becca chose to celebrate their Mercyhurst experience by making the trip from Sterling,
Nate and Becca Myers
Noah and Addison Richmond
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