When it Comes to Graduation, Here’s to Hoping

In a school year unlike any other, some students may still have the hope that at least next year will be back to normal. One group, however, that doesn’t have that hope is the senior class. For them, this is their last chance at experiencing a return to a normal high school experience. But as the year has gone on, and one and one after another, high school traditions like Homecoming and pep rallies have gone to the wayside, many seniors may be wondering: Can’t we at least have a normal graduation?

In a regular year, the ideal graduation party or ceremony includes walking across the stage on the football field like in every high school movie. Some seniors are still holding out for that possibility. “I’m hoping graduation will be normal this year,” said senior Emma Gresham.

Thanks to the pandemic seniors in high school or college have had to adapt to the real possibility of a virtual ceremony as an alternate celebration of their hard work. At last year’s FCHS graduation, seniors had to sit in their cars, wait for their names to be called, walk to the top of the parking lot to receive their diploma, and return back to their cars, all while following social distancing guidelines and wearing masks.

In addition, visitors were limited to whoever could fit in the family car that the senior came in. There was no ceremony on the field, no playing of the band, and no senior procession onto the field.

Still, while many of the usual traditions were lacking, the 2020 ceremony had some surprisingly positive aspects. Although students and parents were supposed to stay in their cars, many people quickly abandoned the restrictions and started walking around the parking lot to see friends they hadn’t been able to see in a couple of months. There were even some fun impromptu experiences, like seniors throwing their caps in the air while standing next to their cars, and taking selfies and videos throughout the event.

One parent, FCHS teacher Elizabeth Pellicane, whose son Alex was the 2020 Valedictorian, was pleasantly surprised by the alternate ceremony. “What seemed like it was going to be second best turned out to be really enjoyable. I’m sure being able to get out and see people after such a long lockdown had something to do with it, but I actually think I enjoyed it more than a normal graduation,” she said.

So what are the chances of having another “socially distanced” graduation for 2021? It’s too early to tell. “I would love to have a traditional graduation ceremony, but at this time I am unable to make that decision,” said FCHS Principal Margo Bruce. It will probably depend on the Covid-19 rates and vaccination rates heading into summer.

Some seniors, like Allyson Crothers, don’t seem to be too upset with the possibility of another “not-normal” graduation ceremony–or with having Covid-19 restrictions potentially affect the size of their graduation party. “I don’t want to have anything too large. If I can have the people that I care about being there, then that is good enough for me, regardless of the amount,” she said.

As a senior myself, almost a year into having the coronavirus surround the world, I found this year to be very disappointing. What I mean by that is seniors here at FCHS, including myself, have missed all the little celebratory traditions that seniors would normally be able to do, such as prom, Homecoming, seeing friends at school, etc. My biggest hope for the coming end of my senior year is having a traditional graduation ceremony because I believe that this is the one tradition that seniors this year should be able to have–especially since there has been so much that this year has taken away from the class of 2021 in particular.

Hopefully, when summer comes, there will be the opportunity to have a traditional graduation ceremony. I hope I’ll be able to celebrate with my family and friends after graduation and I hope to be able to have life go back to normal, life before the coronavirus.

So here’s to hoping.