Class of 2020 adapts pomp to circumstances
While not every district in the region has given up on holding a traditional graduation ceremony amidst the statewide school shutdown, others are planning driveins, drive-thrus and other creative ways to honor their seniors.
After news broke that Burrell High School would be canceling the rest of its year, Genia Koziarski knew her daughter, a senior, and her friends would be “thoroughly disappointed.” With no graduation ceremony, something needed to be done, she said.
“When it was announced that they were only going to get their diplomas in the mail, it was totally crushing to them,” said Ms. Koziarski, a Burrell school director. “And it was heartbreaking for me.”
Then, around Easter, Ms. Koziarski heard that the Riverside Drive-In Theater in Armstrong County would be open for church services. What if that same space was used for her daughter Hannah’s graduation, she wondered.
That night, Ms. Koziarski stayed up until 2 a.m. to perfect a proposal to present to the school board. She received support from state Sen. Jim Brewster, DMcKeesport, and state Rep. Bob Brooks, R-Murrysville, to make a June 11 drive-in graduation a reality.
The drive-in concept has turned into something bigger than she’s ever imagined, she said, with schools from across the country reaching out to her asking for advice on how their schools can plan a similar event.
“My daughter has been getting texts from her friends saying, ‘Your mom saved graduation,’ and people actually crying,” Ms. Koziarski said.
With demographics, available locations and class sizes being considerations, other schools are making plans that follow social distancing guidelines.
Seneca Valley High School, with a senior class of about 560, is planning a drive-thru graduation ceremony that will last two days. Bob Ceh, the school’s principal, said the event will happen on May 28 and 29 — split up because it would take too long in one day — as a way to honor the students close to their original May 29 graduation day.
“We’re going to jazz it up as much as we can,“Mr. Ceh said of the drive-thru. The school also plans to announce students’ names as they pick up their diploma, with a stage in front of the school that students can individually walk across to take photos.
“The district is doing their best to provide closure for the senior class,” said Maddy Yurich, a Seneca Valley senior who is planning to attend Thiel College in the fall. “I am disappointed that we may not be able to have a conventional graduation, but I appreciate how everyone has spent time and energy trying to bring our class together one last time.”
By posting polls on her social media pages, Ms. Yurich has found ways to engage with her class for ideas. One suggestion by her peers was to plan a class picnic in the summer to mirror the annual senior tradition of having breakfast in the parking lot on the last day of school.
“We are missing so much of our senior year, like the most important ending part of it, so I think people will be willing to come back and celebrate one last time,” she said.
Emma Ross, the coowner and manager of the Riverside Drive-In, said at least four other schools — in addition to Burrell — have reached out to her about holding their graduation at the venue, and she’s expecting more.
Ms. Ross would not disclose the amount she’s charging but said each school is being charged the same price.
“It’s not about the money,” she said. “It has nothing to do with the money prospect. It’s for the kids.”
During Burrell’s ceremony, Ms. Koziarski said, seniors will be able to walk across a stage to pick up their diplomas — without any handshakes. The event will take place at 9 p.m. so that projections on the drivein screen can be seen. As each student walks up to receive a diploma, photos of each graduate will be displayed and accompanied by a recording of the band.
Ms. Koziarski wants her daughter, who will head to Clarion University in the fall, and the rest of her class to feel celebrated.
At Baldwin High School, principal Shaun Tomaszewski said he’s hoping to make commencement as traditional as he can, with the event’s date pushed back to July 2 and a backup date of Aug. 5.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that we will be able to pull that off,” he said.
The school’s marching band director is already pulling together the music program, he said. Students have even helped map out a plan that would keep graduates 10 feet apart and the band distanced.
“They have been highly engaged in the process,” Mr. Tomaszewski said.
Ideas such as a drive-in ceremony also were floated, but Mr. Tomaszewski said the size of their senior class — 400 students — would make it hard to find a place that could fit that many cars. If the dates in the summer aren’t feasible for a traditional ceremony, Mr. Tomaszewski said they may create a “Class of 2020 recognition event” at the school’s homecoming in the fall, but he said he hopes it won’t have to come to that.
“These things are like the hallmark academic event that school districts put on each year,” he said.
A virtual yearbook
Seniors from around the area also are helping memorialize their time at school through creating virtual yearbook accounts on Instagram.
Peers in their class can directly message the account information about their future plans, their intended major and a photo. However, the FBI recently warned about identity thieves stealing information such as where you went to school in order to hack into accounts.
Camie Peters, the creator of Hampton High School’s Class of 2020 account, said she first saw the idea after seeing a similar post from her friends in Columbus, Ohio.
A virtual yearbook has its perks, she said, as it provides a broader outreach than a physical book.
Friends from inside and outside of the school district are free to post supportive comments below each post, she said.
Creating a yearbook account for Upper St. Clair’s
Class of 2020 also was helpful for co-creators and seniors Eden Auslander and Kyle Chen to live out their excitement of the school’s traditional “Decision Day,” where students come to school wearing gear displaying their future college.
“I’ve always been excited for that day,” said Mr. Auslander, who will be attending Indiana University Bloomington. “As an underclassman, seeing everyone’s future plans was so interesting, so that was a big thing we were missing out on.”
Caralyn Dufala, the cocreator of the Mars Area High School’s yearbook Instagram along with Alexis Barger, said running the account is not only helping her gain closure for her senior year but also is also giving her the yearbook experience she has been looking forward to as a member of the school’s yearbook club.
Ms. Dufala, who plans on attending Robert Morris University as a nursing major in the fall, said in an email that the club is still working online only to get the physical book completed by the end of the school year.
Creating the physical pages have been a tough but rewarding experience for Ms. Dufala.
Pages saved for sports, graduation and prom have to be completely changed due to cancellations. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to finish the book!”