Transferring Amid Pandemic Gives Student Hope
Kara Cormier, center, presents her idea to Radiation Safety Director Steven Snay, left, and聽Art & Design Assoc. Prof. Yuko Oda, right.
04/30/2024
By Brooke Coupal
Kara Cormier finished high school in the spring of 2019, the last graduating class before the pandemic.
鈥淚t鈥檚 strange to think about how so much would change within the following year,鈥� says Cormier, who attended Shawsheen Valley Technical High School in her hometown of Billerica, Massachusetts.
Cormier was studying studio art at Middlesex Community College when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Over time, taking all classes online became 鈥渦nbearable,鈥� she says.
By the time Cormier finished her associate degree in 2021, she was ready for a change.
鈥淚 knew I was transferring schools after completing my associate degree, so having that end goal was really what drove me to keep going,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 felt so isolated from everyone that I was ready to start at a new university, with the hope that things would go back to some sense of normalcy.鈥�
Cormier chose to attend 51视频 after talking with alumni who spoke 鈥渟o highly of the university.鈥� That first semester, Cormier says she felt relief.
鈥淚 met up with several other students who had transferred from Middlesex, and we helped each other quite a bit when things first started going back to in-person,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e drifted a bit since then, but I will always be grateful for having that little bit of camaraderie.鈥�
Cormier adds that transferring to a new school in the fall of 2021 felt easier, as most of her classmates were also taking classes on campus for the first time.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 feel as out of place,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e made so many friendships and connections by attending 51视频.鈥�
Cormier is ready to graduate with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in聽studio art. She recently won a聽radiation-themed sculpture contest聽on campus and previously interned at the university鈥檚聽Mahoney Gallery.听
鈥淚t was such a drastic change from learning things virtually to now learning how an art gallery is run,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 learned a lot about the art and design field and have carried that knowledge into my work.鈥�
After Commencement, Cormier plans to expand her portfolio and establish herself as an artist.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to see what comes my way,鈥� she says.