After another challenging semester of mostly online and hybrid classes, UWF students are closing out what looks to be the last semester of heavy limitations.

Starting in August of 2021, a majority of classes will be held in-person, football games will return, and more on-campus activities will be allowed to take place.

Although COVID-19 is not over yet, a weight is starting to lift off of student’s shoulders knowing that they have their classes scheduled for in-person in the fall.

“I’m ready for this semester to be over so I can focus on my in-person classes for fall,” a UWF Freshman said. “I haven’t gotten to experience UWF that much in person, so I’m excited to feel like I’m actually in college.”

Since COVID-19, we have seen many professors open their eyes to the mental and physical challenges that students face outside of the classroom.

Students found that their professors are being considerate and patient when it comes to this semester’s finals.“I’m super surprised but I’m not as stressed out for finals this semester,” a UWF student said.

“Many of my professors have been lenient about the finals and even gave them to us a month and advance to prepare for. It’s still a lot of work, but I don’t feel like the stakes are as high as normal.”

“I’m actually feeling good about my finals,” a UWF junior said. “Maybe it’s because nothing can beat the last two semesters, but I feel a lot more confident in them this time.”

The Spring semester didn’t always have as many challenges as the 2020 semesters, but that doesn’t mean that it still isn’t relieving to finish.

“Compared to other semesters, this one hasn’t been as bad,” a UWF Junior said. “But that being said, every student is stressed and ready for the semester to be over at the very end, even if it wasn’t as bad as before.” 

Many students are having to enroll in summer courses while others have decided to take the summer off.

“Thankfully I have already done my three summer credits, so I’m giving myself a well needed break for a few months before fall starts,” a UWF Sophomore said.

Graduation cap and gowns can already be seen around campus, and the seniors are extremely excited to be finished with college and head out into the real world.“It’s scary don’t get me wrong, but if I can get through my last three semesters of college online, I think I can handle anything at this point,” a UWF Senior said. “I feel prepared to enter the workforce and I know that I’ve been getting ready for this for four years.”

The semester will officially end, and the graduation ceremony will take place on May 8th, 2021 at the Blue Wahoo’s Stadium.

9:00 a.m. will include undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, College of Business, and Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering.

1:00 p.m. will include undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Education and Professional Studies, and Usha Kundu, MD College of Hea