From COVID-19 isolation to nationwide campus protests: Student journalists reflect on past 4...

The last four years have been unlike any other period in modern American history, especially for graduating college seniors.

In 2020, students ended their high school careers isolated from loved ones because of the pandemic. Then, they started their freshman year of college with remote learning. Now, they’re getting ready to graduate as protests against the war in Gaza roil college campuses.

Irie Sentner from Durango, Colorado, is a graduating senior at Columbia University in New York City. Alana Hackman from Sacramento is finishing up at Cal Poly Humboldt in rural Northern California. The two student journalists — both first-generation college students — share their experiences.