Local Graduates Face Uncertainty for Freshman Year of College, But Are Determined to Stay Positive

For many local graduates, their freshman year of college will look nothing like they planned. Changes have been made to the way schools are approaching sports, campus life, housing and classes. Despite this, many local teens are still determined to make the best of their fall semesters and are still going to campus, with excitement about their new journeys.

Hampton Bays graduate Tristan Halsey’s plan was to study civil engineering at the University of Rhode Island. He planned on continuing his musical career by being a part of music groups on campus, including the marching band and wind ensemble.

But the football season has been canceled, meaning that there is nowhere for the marching band to play.

“I am still going to stay enrolled in marching band as they are trying to teach us fundamentals and prepare us for when things go back to normal. So it’s great to have that opportunity under these circumstances,” Mr. Halsey said.

“Even though most of my classes are online, I still wanted to get the college experience, so I decided that I am going to be on campus,” he added

Lily Candelaria is planning to attend New York University.

“I was going to have a fall softball season with a regular practice schedule and a play date,” Ms. Candelaria said. “Also, I was planning to work with my mentor at the hospital for special surgery.”

Ms. Candelaria was part of Hampton Bays’ Science research program and planned to continue working with her mentor from the program while in college.

“I’m still living there,” she added. “I have some online classes, mostly the 101-type classes, and some in person. I have two roommates, one from California, who has to quarantine before coming to NYU, and one from the Boston area.”

Ms. Candelaria and her roommates are all athletes, but sports have been canceled until January 1. The pandemic is changing Ms. Candelaria’s plans for extracurriculars, as her school does its best to keep everyone safe.

“My softball team can still practice, but not play games,” she said. “I am unsure if I will be able to intern at the hospital due to COVID patient use of the facility, but I’ve been in touch with my mentor anyway.”

Hampton Bays grad Marissa Kennedy was excited to proudly carry on family tradition and attend DePauw University in Indiana — her father was in the class of 1984 and her sister attended from 2016-2018. Now she is faced with a lot of uncertainty as she awaits more information from the school.

“My school’s been changing the plans a lot lately, but as of now I know I won’t be having a roommate, and they’re talking about breaking up the dorm situation by semester, like some other schools are doing, where the underclassmen would have priority for the fall, and then upperclassmen would have housing priority for the spring semester,” she said. “A lot of the plan is still up in the air though."

Southampton High School graduate Grace Kearns said COVID has not changed her plans about attending Georgetown University in terms of going or not going.

“I do have a single dorm now, so not having a roommate will be a different experience for sure,” she said.

For some recent graduates, their plans look nothing like what they expected. For Beatrice DeGroot of Bridgehampton, she had planned to attend a ballet school and possibly take a gap year. Now she has paid a deposit at Sarah Lawrence, but is still unsure of what to do.

“I’m more anxious about the decision because what I will be able to do is unclear,” said Ms. DeGroot. “If I go to school, what will it be like? Or if I don’t go, what will I be able to do?”

More than anything, the teens are determined to make the best of the beginning of their college adventures.

“I’m excited but also nervous,” Ms. Candelaria said. “NYU is really on top of keeping everyone safe and healthy, so I’m not so nervous about COVID as much as I am for just getting used to college.”

Even though there is disappointment with everything that has changed with no football games, the possibility of no roommates and a lot still undiscovered, everyone is trying to maintain as much normalcy as possible.

“I’m grateful that I still have the option to be on campus, and I am even more grateful at the fact that I am going to a school that cares so much about the safety of its students,” said Mr. Halsey. “And the school is doing everything it can to still give us opportunists given the circumstances.”

“I’m feeling pretty bummed about missing a lot of the opportunities I would have had starting college under normal circumstances, but I’m trying to stay positive and prepare for the new system as best as I can,” said Ms. Kennedy. “I really want to hold on to what traditional new-student fun I can have, like getting to move on campus and meeting all my teachers in person.”

But more than anything, the students remind everyone to continue to stay positive.

“You have to look at things like this with a positive outlook. Creating negativity can hold you back from seeing the opportunities that are hidden beneath the circumstances,” said Mr. Halsey.