Graduating into the Coronavirus Pandemic, Rewarded with a Laurel Crown

During the Coronavirus outbreak, there is no in person exchange of flowers, or the uncorking of a bottle of wine with relatives in celebration of college graduation. The tradition of a laurel wreath worn by a student after presenting their thesis in Italy, however, remains strong. After collecting leaves from their communal garden, neighbors Alessandra and Marco created a laurel wreath and delivered the gift into a recent graduate’s window using a broomstick and gloves. Antonia De Zarlo, 28, had graduated from the University of Florence on March 23 with a degree in Medicine after completing a thesis on the consequences of head injuries––which she presented during a video-conference call in her apartment, a short distance away from Florence’s Careggi hospital. 

De Zarlo’s Facebook post recounting her experience completing her degree at the time of the pandemic went viral on social media in just a few hours. “I have lived in the same building for three years. During quarantine, I finally met my neighbors outside on the balcony adjacent to mine––they were the only people I saw not through a screen,” writes Antonia, originally from Mottafollone, a village of just over 1,200 inhabitants in the province of Cosenza, in the post. 

“With the broom handle and gloves, they passed me a package with my graduation wreath inside.” Her post goes on to say: “I didn’t think I would be able to have a wreath, but instead the magic of life can still materialize.” This gift is a message of solidarity and hope for the new doctor whose story was shared on social media. “I don’t want to hide the fact that realizing I had to discuss my thesis virtually made me sad. I needed a beautiful moment,” Antonia says. “But then I thought about the people I know, the medical staff members who are fighting this battle on the front line, and I made myself be strong.” On Monday, she woke up and got ready just as if she were going to school. She even wore the same jacket she would have worn to deliver her thesis in person. Instead, she sat in front of her computer, connected to the commissioners on video, and began to illustrate her work––the result of a year and half of research and internships. “The commissioners were empathetic, it was a beautiful moment.”

When the emergency is over, De Zarlo doesn’t rule out the possibility of organizing a big party in celebration: “So my mother will be able to thank my neighbors for having ‘replaced’ her by making the wreath,” she said. In the meantime, while spending these days of quarantine reflecting on her future as a trainee, Antonia wants to send a special message: “When we return to normal, I would like to remember the nurses, doctors and health workers who today we call heroes, but who have fought a ‘silent emergency’––between staff shortages, exhausting shifts, and difficult psychological implications ––even before the arrival of Coronavirus. I hope that one day they will be able to go out and work without fear.”  (elizabeth berry)

To read more in Italian, visit Florence’s La Repubblica news site.