Grad 2020 is one for the history books.
Not just because it’s now over and done, but because grad 2020 was one of the most unique grads Tumbler Ridge has ever seen.
After the last three months of school were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the class came together for the first time in months to celebrate grad.
Austin Lundgard says when he first found out school was cancelled after spring break, he was worried.
“I was so afraid I like wouldn’t be able to get my schooling done,” he says. “And it was just so much confusion. Then there was hearsay that we might be going back to school, but we might not and it was all just up in the air. Then we finally did the online stuff, but online really doesn’t do it for me. Like that type of schooling. It’s completely different from normal schooling.”
But, he says, he and the rest of his classmates managed to get through it and get to graduation.
“It was good to see them,” he says. “you definitely miss your friends. We had, like, a couple video chats. A few of us bumped into each other, but kept our social distance. We’d see each other around town way but that was pretty much it.”
But the last few days, he says, has seen lots of hugs and lots of conversations with friends about the good times they’ve had.
He says the thing he’s going to treasure most about graduation is, well, graduation. “I’m definitely going to treasure everyone getting together and being able to still do this in spite of COVID. People were saying ‘no, you won’t be able to do it. You have to say this thing, but we’re the class that we’re able to do it and we’re able to accomplish our graduation. Have a good time.
BC still has a maximum of 50 people at any public gathering. With only 20 students attending graduation (a pair of students chose not to attend) it was possible for the class to split the graduation ceremony into two, and have the parents for half the class show up to each ceremony. With 20 kids, 20 parents, a handful of teachers, and a someone to live stream the video and another person to take pictures of the ceremony, they were able to keep it down to under 50 people at each ceremony.
Keona Osbourne wasn’t expecting to see many people after spring break, because she was in a dual credit program for carpentry, and spending much of her time in Dawson Creek.
“I was doing carpentry, and all of a sudden we just shut down our site so we had to go home, she says. “They didn’t tell us if we were going back or not, until a couple days after that. So it’s been really interesting really have many classes left to do in the high school. So it was really seeing what everybody else was doing, finishing up the Grad Transitions course.
“What was weird was not having family there to celebrate with you.”
She says it was hard to come up with a grad ceremony idea that worked for everyone. “We started with wanting to have a drive-in grad, and have all of our family there. We got shut down on that idea and other ideas along those same lines and we ended up just having to split the class into two different ceremonies and half our parents at each. Most of us have siblings and other family who were coming from across the country, so it was quite upsetting that they couldn’t be there. But it’s the best we can get. Most graduates aren’t even getting a graduation.
For her, the biggest thing she’ll be taking from grad is the dinner. “It was great to actually getting to see everybody in their dresses. Most of the girls bought their grad dresses before Christmas and we’re so excited to actually put our dresses on, get our suits on and get to come and celebrate.
