VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It’s graduation season in Hampton Roads, and the class of 2024 started their high school or college journeys during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One Virginia Wesleyan University student walked across the graduation stage to receive her diploma Saturday after starting her college career over Zoom, across the globe.
The green, orange and white of Kainaat Trehan’s graduation stole stood out in the sea of caps and gowns, paying tribute to her home country.
She applied to VWU, competed for scholarships and committed to the school, all from India and all without visiting the school in-person.
“I was doing everything virtually, so I just had very little understanding of Virginia Wesleyan,” she told 13News Now Saturday.
Because of the pandemic, Trehan started her freshman year in the honors program over Zoom from her hometown of Delhi. She remembers, “We had a 10.5-hour time difference, and I had a lot of night classes.” This meant she was often logging on to her courses at 2 a.m.
Trehan says her first year went by quickly, but she had nerves about meeting her classmates in person once COVID-19 restrictions lifted.
“I was anxious about coming back here and being able to make friends again,” she explained. “Because they all trauma bonded. But they were all so happy and excited after only seeing me through a screen, so that was great.”
Despite her late arrival on campus, Trehan thrived at Virginia Wesleyan, earning the school’s President’s Leadership Award and the International Studies Department Award. She also visited Israel and Palestine before the October 7 Hamas attacks as part of a service learning course.
“I got to speak to people on all sides of the conflict,” she explained. “And it was very interesting to hear both sides of the story because often in Western media it’s very [black and white.]”
Trehan added, she saw the daily lives and communities of the people on each side.
“Life’s just so unpredictable there. They’re just trying their best to live life to the fullest.”
Trehan studied political science and international relations while at VWU. Now that she’s earned her degree, she plans to continue her studies in Germany and Denmark. She is one of just 100 students worldwide to receive the Erasmus Mundus scholarship through the European Union.