The past four years have been an up and down experience for the Class of 2021. The Dean College Class of 2021 arrived on campus in the Fall of 2017, ready to pursue their careers. Not everyone followed through on their plans, some transferred schools and some even dropped out. The past four years have been a growing experience for the graduating class, from freshman orientation to missing out on two semesters due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now graduation. One of these seniors is Cameron Ward, a theater major and president of the Dean Student Government Association.
Ward came to Dean in hopes of finding a smaller school that fit the bill of having an elite theatre program. “It’s really the small campus feel, and I looked at other schools around the country too at larger institutions in New York and Chicago but decided I could go to a bigger school for grad school and build my way up”.
Something big Ward is involved with is the Student Government Association, where he currently holds the title of President. Ward became involved with SGA in his freshman year while talking to the SGA president at the time. “It’s the president at the time who actually talked me into it after a school of arts meeting my freshman year. He talked me into sitting in on one of the SGA meetings, I was skeptical at first, but I went to one of the meetings and knew it would be something that would change my college career for the better.”
After a strong opening two years, the world suddenly changed. The COVID-19 pandemic struck, shutting down businesses and schools worldwide including Dean. Ward, who was studying in England at the time was sent home to quarantine as the worldwide lockdown was mandated. “Honestly I was kind of glad to be home after having to book my flight in record time which was tough. When I got home, I was okay with it, doing classes online, but then when the world really started shutting down, I started realizing there weren’t as many job opportunities as possible out there for the summer, but then it clicked that this would be tough but I took the summer and took opportunities and did a lot of self-work too.”
As one door of life closes, another one opens. After graduation, Ward plans to work in the theater education pathway this summer and then plans to work as an actor in the Boston market. It has not been the easiest four years for this graduating class, from freshmen orientation to a worldwide pandemic, this class went through a lot but made it through. Congratulations to the Dean College Graduating Class of 2021!
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