For the Class of 2020, this season looks far different than expected.

Rather than soaking in the last few months of courses and celebrating their accomplishments, seniors are ZOOMing into classes, struggling to complete assignments remotely, and battling their precarious futures.

Much of this uncertainty centers the market for a job or internship. Landing a great job in a specific field straight out of college is hard enough as it is.

Due to the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus, it will be nearly impossible.

Graduates have already lost future job opportunities.

For those who had full-time positions lined up beginning in the summer after graduation, now find these plans cancelled due to companies losing too much money to keep on full staff.

Students currently enrolled as part-time interns and employees are being laid off for the same reasons.

“I had a job, hired in September as a teacher for pre- k and kindergarten students and I just got laid off. It’s extremely disappointing because I genuinely enjoyed working there and it was my own source of income,” says Emily Smith.

Smith is a senior at Temple University in Philadelphia where she also worked part-time as a teacher for young children.

The scary reality is this year’s college graduates are entering one of the most uncertain economic environments in history since the Great Recession.

Nothing about that is reassuring.

Despite feeling anxious about the future, members of the Class of 2020 are being as proactive as possible. With the help of technology, they're using this time to network with different possible employers.

While there is overwhelming stress, there is also a sliver of hope they hold onto during this time.

“Hopefully when all this calms down and ends, we’ll be able to get more jobs,” says Pamela Ng.

Ng, a graduating senior at Loyola University Maryland, now reaches out to various companies to get her name out in anticipation of the end of the pandemic.