Post-grad Life After Pandemic

Mon, 04/19/21

Abby Shepherd

Despite a disrupted last year and a half as students at the University of Kansas, seniors are preparing to walk down the hill and graduate on May 16. Many members of the class of 2021 will enter the workforce or attend graduate school, an accomplishment after a year full of hardship.

Ben Grimes, a senior from Chicago, will graduate with a dual degree in film and media studies and English, with a minor in theatre. After graduation, he will attend the University of Southern California for its film and television production program.

“It’s been my dream to go to that school and be in that specific program since I was a kid,” Grimes said. “It’s a really hard program to get into, and quite honestly it’s something I never thought could happen.”

Grimes hopes to work in post-production and sound design for film and television after graduating from USC and would also like to write and direct his own independent features.

“USC has a pretty solid pipeline into working in the production industry and the film and television industry in Los Angeles, and the USC alumni network is massive, so I think that will help,” Grimes said.

Grimes is excited to live in Los Angeles, but knows that he will miss Lawrence and KU.

“I’ve hardly been on campus for a year, and I love that campus,” Grimes said. “There are so many little spaces and nooks that I’ve found that were my favorite spots, where I would go study. KU has been hard work, but it’s also been a peaceful place and there’s a lot of people that I’m going to miss.”