The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama resident Iesir Moss was planning to be surrounded by her close friends and family members when she walked across the stage to receive her long-awaited diploma from the University of the Bahamas after five years of studying at the institution.

Initially set to graduate this month and now with those dates postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the English major said it’s not clear whether all her loved ones will be able to make it for the special ceremony.

Nor is she certain when she will be able to actually graduate.

“They have not told us when the new graduate dates are,” she told The Tribune during a recent interview.

“…(But) we know that graduation most likely will be pushed into fall because they aren’t opening the school back up until fall. All of the events are postponed until further notice but we’re assuming that they’re going to combine those who should have graduated in the spring and those who will complete fall together.”

Still, Ms Moss said her biggest disappointment is not about walking across the big stage with her family present, but wondering if she will physically receive her degree, a token of her hard work these past five years.

“It was supposed to be that I would go with my degree to Canada to see if I could obtain a job in Canada, but at this point, I don’t know when I’m graduating, and I don’t know when I’m getting my actual degree,” she told The Tribune.

“So, that’s the bit that’s frustrating because it pushes back those plans and it means that I have to stay home longer and as you know we are still attempting to regain normalcy from Dorian so the fact that we already didn’t have any jobs and government closing down the country, there’s no jobs.”

Added to these challenges, she said, is trying to keep her mother safe who is a high-risk person for contracting the virus, while also juggling her work for a thesis, which was due last week.

She said: “My mom is high-risk so for the first half of this, she was in the hospital for breathing (issues) as well as there was fluid in her heart and stuff so coming back home, I became the designated shopper for my family.

“And so you have all of these stresses where you know you have to work on your thesis, there are days when it’s like you still need you to go to the food store and in Grand Bahama, we only have two actual food stores.

“And the lines, you can be standing on the lines for an hour and a half. So, it’s like no I have to get home because I have to work on my thesis but at the same time, I have to do these things because my mum can’t do it.”

Despite these challenges, Ms Moss said she still tries to maintain a positive attitude throughout it all.

“It’s like Dorian wipes everything out and then you attempt to pick up the pieces and then COVID-19 hits. It’s almost similar to that same scenario all over again, but just slightly different and that’s what frustrates me... But I try to find good things that have happened.”

Expressing similar sentiments to The Tribune was Naathan Rolle, another Bahamian student whose graduation was postponed due to the virus.

Mr Rolle, who attends Morehouse College in Atlanta, is one of the recipients of the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship.

Expecting to graduate in May, the student said he was “a little” disappointed when he received news, saying the dates had been postponed to December as a result of the fast-spreading virus.

“When I first heard of it, it was a little disappointing but as time progressed, I learned to gradually accept it,” he said. “But, I’m not really depressed or upset about it because I know I experienced everything I wanted to experience in college.

“ I achieved everything I wanted to achieve. I felt like I left with a memorable legacy at my school. I met some great people. I explored a lot so I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything. I got the full experience until this pandemic came.

“And the graduation, my aunts, uncles are still going to be there in December. I’ll still get my degree during the fall so this is a major accomplishment for me, especially being a first-generation student.”