The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 7 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on April 2, 2021.
Stephanie Carlson ’21
Associate Editor and Sports Editor
Grace Atia ’21 
Brandon Johnson ’21
No one could have known a year ago that we would be where we are right now. From being sent home last March to a fully remote fall semester, to a partially remote spring semester, COVID-19 threw a major wrench in many student’s plans.
Although living through a global pandemic has not been easy on any of the Lake Forest College community, graduating seniors were heavily affected by the pandemic. Spending much of their senior year uncertain about what will come next within their sports and after school, many scrambled to find some sense of normalcy within the little time that they had left.
Whether that be staying connected with team members or playing their beloved sports any chance they could get, our seniors have longed for a year that they, unfortunately, will not get to see.
Many of those seniors are now saying goodbye to the sports they have loved, whether that be for some period of time over the last four years or throughout their lives.
Being part of a college sports team can be a very rewarding and challenging experience. “Being on the team has changed me as a person because it taught me the outcomes of hard work,” said Grace Atia ’21, a senior on the women’s track team.
Along with learning the importance of hard work, many of the senior athletes highlight their time on their respective teams as helping them to better communicate with others.
“I have learned how to become a better communicator to other people as I have been involved with so many different student-athletes that I probably never would have met had I not joined the cross-country team,” said Brandon Johnson ’21, a senior on the men’s cross-country team.
Being sent home and unable to continue in person last March, many lost the opportunity to play nearly a season’s worth of their sport. Although many will be ending their careers as they graduate, the NCAA has offered many students the chance to get back some of the time that they have lost due to the pandemic.
“So, in other words, a spring sport student-athlete who was a senior in 2020 could choose to participate in collegiate athletics for two more seasons, or up to four semesters,” said Blake Theisen, interim director of athletics for the College. “The caveat is that they have to be enrolled students and making progress toward degree completion. This could be another undergraduate degree or a master’s degree program.”
Fall and winter students also will have the opportunity to extend their eligibility, although for only one more season, or up to two semesters.
All students, no matter the grade level, can take advantage of extending their eligibility. Any student that was enrolled in an NCAA institution for the spring of 2020, or for this current school year, can extend if they choose to do so.
Even though many students can do so, many of them will not be extending their eligibility as they move on from collegiate sports.
“Unfortunately, I will not use my extra year of eligibility,” said Atia, while Johnson will make the decision based on whether he decides to attend graduate school.
As the year quickly comes to an end, and seniors prepare to graduate, their teams prepare for a bittersweet goodbye to the many students that have given their all to the sports that they love.
