treet doesn’t usually include a letter from the editor in its annual Penn 10 issue. After all, the accomplishments of our featured stand–out seniors tend to speak for themselves.

But this year felt a little different.

The Class of 2021 has weathered what few of us could have predicted would come to pass when we were sent home that fateful March 2020 day: a fully online school year.

These Quakers spent their last lap around the track navigating Zoom meetings, time zone differences, and social distancing mandates. They lamented the loss of traditional milestones associated with flying the coop that now had the labels “virtual” or “limited in–person attendance” tacked onto them.

Yet, as the profiles that fill the pages of this year’s Penn 10 issue illustrate, even a pandemic couldn’t stop this year’s graduating class from leaving a legacy behind at dear old Penn.

From spearheading student activism to working as contact tracers to running organic chemistry workshops, this year’s soon–to–be–graduates found unique ways to make their marks amid the chaos.

And that, dear readers, deserves a mention.

Tomorrow, we’ll go back to picking up the pieces of a life uprooted by COVID–19. But today, we celebrate our kickass Class of 2021.