February 27th, 2020: I was in my senior biochem lab when I got an email stating “your admission decision is now available on the admission portal”. I couldn’t concentrate for the rest of lab and the walk home was a blur. As soon as I got to my apartment, I logged in and viewed my decision. With tears in my eyes I ran into my best friend’s bedroom and said “I’m going to grad school”. I immediately accepted the admission offer then called my parents to tell them I was moving to NYC to get my PhD in Biochemistry Two weeks later, Mercer University was temporarily switching classes to online…