A few years ago, if someone were to tell me that for part of my junior year, and most of my senior year, that I would not be in school or doing things normally due to a global pandemic… I would have said that they were crazy. However, that’s exactly what is happening today.

With cases locally sky rocketing, and all of us doing virtual learning for the time being at Corry High, this makes the whole class of 2021 worry and question, “What will our future endeavors consist of in a world like this, and how do we move forward?” Well, from my recent personal experience, I can say that COVID-19 has not and will not stop me from graduating, stepping out of my comfort zone, making new friends, getting good grades, staying involved, and especially going to college.

Since it is already February and graduation is nearing closer and closer, final college applications have been due and it is time to plan for my future. A couple months ago I applied for a college near New York City. At the time, I didn’t even think about what it was like and how I was going to feel on campus, let alone how my family and I were going to afford it. But, with my strong passion for writing and music, I knew just by the descriptions of their curriculum, internships, clubs and organizations, and currently enrolled students that I had to apply. In December, I finally received an acceptance letter and I was so excited! From then on, my family and I knew we had to narrow down some colleges and go visit this one specifically (while taking the right precautions).

About a week ago, my mom, cousin, and one of my friends and I took a road trip to go see Hofstra University in New York! With COVID-19 we knew we still had to take all of the right safety precautions, such as: quarantining before and after, filling out a health screening, and wearing our masks everywhere we went. The day we arrived we stayed in a nice hotel, got some dinner, and the next morning we made our way to Hofstra. The moment I stepped into the admissions office, met a few tour guides, and began to walk around all of campus, I knew this was the right college for me. One of my favorite parts of the whole tour was getting to see their school of communication. Not only do they have their own radio station, but they have a huge broadcasting studio, and up to seven theaters total. After about an hour the tour was complete and I knew that attending Hofstra would give me any and all opportunities to strive in my interests of broadcast journalism and musical theater. With this, I can honestly say that I am beyond ecstatic and proud to be an officially enrolled student at Hofstra University!