A Zoom Graduation Party

A Zoom Graduation Party

Becca Schnabel, pictured in the upper right-hand corner of the photograph, graduated from UW-Milwaukee in May 2020 with a master’s degree in public history and museum studies. Because of the cancellation of the in-person commencement ceremony along with stay-at-home orders during this time, she and her cohorts were regulated to a virtual graduation party via Zoom. She explained that more than her graduation plans were altered by the pandemic: “Nothing has really gone as I had hoped after graduating, some of it due to the pandemic, some due to other life issues. Still, I am continuing to try.” To make ends meet, as well as to obtain health insurance, Schnabel took a job unrelated to her career. A year later, in 2021, she is excited to continue her volunteer work at the Sheboygan Historical Society and Museum (SCHSM), one of the institutions that closed due to the pandemic. With luck, that volunteer work will lead to permanent employment in collection management for SCHSM. “Everything is more complicated after COVID and the loss of revenue following the pandemic,” said Schnabel. "So, we will see.”

Becca Schnabel

May 2020

Jamee N. Pritchard