By Ilwad Salex
Reporter
Around this time almost every year, all around the country there are students who are preparing for arguably one of the most memorable times of their lives: high school graduation. They plan their outfits, invite loved ones, excited and scared of what the future holds.
This year however, things are a bit different. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools and businesses deemed as non-essential around the world have closed.
For this reason, many schools have decided to cancel graduation ceremonies and instead have the diplomas mailed home or picked up by the students.
Some prefer it this way, while others think sadly about the graduation ceremony they waited for for many years.
It’s not only high schools that are canceling graduation ceremonies — universities and colleges around the world have announced the cancelation of their graduation ceremonies, too.
At Rochester Community and Technical College, this year they’ll hold a virtual commencement. Students can upload pictures, inspirational quotes along with their names and the major they are graduating with, and RCTC will put that information on a card showcasing it on social media.
While this might be not traditional, RCTC is doing everything they can to make it a memorable experience for graduates.
Safia Mustaf, a John Marshall PSEO student, will soon be graduating high school. When asked about how the graduation ceremonies being canceled affected her, she said that although it’s not the way she’d imagined her high school graduation, “it’s something that can’t be helped.”
“Graduation is something I have always been excited for and it’s a bit sad to see it never happen,” she said. “But at the end of day it is for the best.”
Mustaf also said that because of graduation ceremonies being canceled, her high school was requesting student’s to send in pictures similar to what RCTC is doing.