The intent of this study was to understand the impact of rapid changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic on graduate students' professional socialization, Due to the recency of the pandemic, few published studies have examined the extent of the pandemic's impact on the experiences of graduate students seeking degrees throughout 2020 and 2021. This descriptive-interpretive qualitative study was conducted to examine the experiences shared by members of a cohort of master's degree-seeking students enrolled in a student affairs master's degree program at a regional state-funded university in the Midwest during the pandemic. This study relied on a semi-structured interview with participants from the 2021 graduating cohort, conducted via a focus group interview session. This study demonstrated the widespread changes to professional socialization caused by the pandemic, and offers suggestions for future studies to examine the interconnected elements that make up the academic, assistantship site, and extracurricular aspects of professional socialization through the pursuit of graduate education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]