Almost a year has passed since the Midwest began feeling the impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus. In the second week of March 2020, dozens of states and local governments began enacting shelter-in-place orders and other restrictive measures. Flash forward two months and students, teachers and parents alike faced horrible disappointment as commencement ceremonies were postponed or cancelled. Millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths have been reported nationwide. While there is no clear end to the COVID crisis in sight, these trying times have already provided much in the way of lessons learned.