The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Banners honor grads in the International City
Banners honor 2020 graduates around town
City workers placed banners featuring the faces of local graduates and the city’s next generation of leaders.
The streets of Lorain are honoring the class of 2020.
On June 1, city workers placed banners featuring the faces of local graduates and the city’s next generation of leaders.
Spearheaded by Lorain Ward 6 Councilman Rey Carrion, the project started off as just featuring high school graduates, but then grew to college graduates and students from other area schools with connections to Lorain.
“It’s really a way for the families to say thank you and to congratulate our students for all their hard work,” Carrion said. “And for us, it’s a way to embrace it and showcase it.”
Lorain city workers are installing about 500 banners this week all over city.
The banners can be found on East 28th Street, West Erie Avenue and on Broadway.
An additional stretch of banners will be placed on Leavitt Road near the new Meijer store, which partnered on the project.
Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, 2020 graduates are not getting a traditional in-person graduation ceremony.
For Carrion, this is another way to get creative in paying respect while maintaining social distance.
“But for us, that’s a big accomplishment,” he said. “You always go back and remember what you did on your senior year.
“And this is really the least that we can do for them. Obviously, they put a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice, not only from the student’s perspective, but the families. So, for us this to say, ‘hey, congratulations, great job, don’t stop here, keep working hard. Make a bright future for yourself.’
“It’s celebrating the International City and hoping one day the graduates decide to bring their talents and energy back to Lorain.”
The project has been ongoing for the last eight weeks with help from community volunteers including Antonio Barrios, Harold Ortiz, Bee Gee Toro and the Lorain branch of the Latin American Motorcycle Association for their help in assembling the banners.
In the process of honoring Lorain’s graduates, Carrion said it has been emotional because he’s had the pleasure of watching so many young people in Lorain grow up from first- and second-grade and seeing them return to raise their own children.
“It shows you how fast time moves, and how critical it is for us to make that investment in our youth,” he said. “They are the future and that’s where a lot of the emphasis needs to be placed on so we have a bright future ahead of us for many, many decades, and they can continue the legacy and they can create their own for the next generation.”
Carrion said he has been overwhelmed with calls and emails saying thank you for the effort.