Class of 2020 Graduation During Quarantine

It goes without saying that 2020 is turning out to be quite a year, and for those of us who have High School or College graduates, the months of May and June are not going to look like we have planned or hoped. My oldest son was set to graduate from High School on May 17th, after 13 long (often difficult) years of working hard to succeed at school. We’ve had time to adjust to the reality that we’re living in, but we still have sad moments that the big milestone won’t look like we expected.

But, even though we’re disappointed, we’re so blessed because we live in a small town of about 8000, and there have been some amazing people who’ve worked hard to make the class of 2020 feel super special. How are they doing this? Here are a few of the ways…

Senior Yard Signs
Our local printing company collected names and senior photos and made amazing yard signs for each of our seniors. My son was THRILLED when I picked it up, and he went and “planted” it in our front yard immediately.

Senior Banners
Again, we live in a small town, so this isn’t something that would work everywhere – but our chamber of commerce worked with the High School to create banners, similar to the yard signs of all the seniors for class of 2020. They plan to hang them from light poles all through town. We are looking forward to getting photos of Samuel with HIS sign downtown.

Adopt a Senior
Someone from our High School set up a closed Facebook page for parents of the seniors. It’s been a great way to communicate, to commiserate and to share idea for our kids. Just a few days ago, they created a second group on Facebook called Adopt a Duke. Parents/seniors were instructed to post Senior photos and a short blurb with a little info and future plans. We were also told to set up a wish list on amazon. Then other people could “Adopt” our senior and send them a card, gift or gift card and well wishes. The amazing thing? Seniors aren’t getting adopted just once! Our son has three separate people who adopted him (so far). He was so touched that people would take the time to look at his wish list and send him a card and a gift!

Other Ideas?
What are some of the ways your family or community are adjusting to the inability to have a large graduation ceremony for your High School or College Graduates? What about your little ones who were set to graduate from Kindergarten? Share with us your Class of 2020 experiences during this tough time.

This guest post was written by Char Huskins, mother of three and business owner living in small town Nebraska. Char owns Delight Design, a graphic and website design business, and sells lots and lots and LOTS of party favors (except not right now, because of quarantine cancelling all our parties). Visit Char’s amazon shop at Delight Design.