Collected Item: “Ladies and gentlemen, the graduating class of 2020!”
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Ladies and gentlemen, the graduating class of 2020!
What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?
Video
Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.
My sister-in-law began working on her AA degree in 1997. As life took her in new directions, she never completed the degree. In 2016, as a mother of 3 and the Director of Human Resources for a foodservices company, she decided to go back and finish the work she once started. She completed her work in December of 2019 and our entire extended family eagerly awaited the day that we could watch her walk across the stage and celebrate her, as she has celebrated our academic milestones. Unfortunately, her graduation ceremony was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not wanting this moment to pass by uncelebrated, we decided to host a virtual graduation party for her. We made her a "Congrats Grad!" poster, a money lei, hunted down a cap and gown, and even had mom sew a stole complete with the year and institution embroidered on it. We had our family dress up and join us via Zoom. We had her girls blindfold her and get her ready, and then walk her to a computer to join the Zoom call while Pomp and Circumstance was playing. It wasn't the graduation we had originally envisioned for her. However, it is one we will always remember. There were cheers, laughs and tears. And I am certainly glad that we did not let this moment pass us by.
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#lostgraduation, #Zoom, #celebration, #education, #sanfranciscobayarea, #ASU, #HST580
Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)
Joel Gagnon
Give this story a date.
2020-05-23