10/04/2022 01:09:00 PMCompleting a graduate degree can be difficult for anyone, but the pandemic has posed additional obstacles. Jorge Mendoza, who caught COVID-19 in late July 2021 as he was working on his master’s degree at the University of Houston College of Education, knows the struggle. “It’s a blessing that I’m here, because it was bad,” he said. “If I took three or four steps, I would be hyperventilating,” Mendoza persevered with the support of his professors, ultimately earning his M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction in May 2022 and recently starting his dream job as an instructional designer at San Jacinto College.