By Beacon Staff
Any other year, graduating Burlington High School seniors would have taken their final walk flanked by family and friends. Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, it didn’t happen on Sunday.
It likely will happen in late June or in July, according to Burlington High School Principal David Keane. By then, however, several students will have shipped out for basic training.
To make up for the loss, the school district posted a live video on Sunday honoring departing seniors on its YouTube channel.
The diplomas were handed out weeks ago, drive-thru style. However, Sunday was about paying tribute to student accomplishments.
Despite the lack of a live crowd, the ceremony played out like a typical commencement. About 300 people tuned in for the live stream, and by 9 p.m. Sunday, nearly 1,000 people watched the video.
“This generation has learned a hard lesson — that there are factors they cannot control,” said Dean Vickstrom, school board president, ending
his speech with a “Go Grayhounds!”
Salutatorian Peighton Davis and valedictorian Katie Kannan spoke next.
Davis paid tribute to the late Jackson Gipe, who would have graduated with the class of 2020. Gipe died of cancer at the age of 12, and the senior class has continued to honor his memory.
“He was my best friend,” she said.
Kannan said it may seem like the end of the word to not have a normal commencement ceremony but life will go on. It will be up to each graduating senior to carve their own path, she added.
Each student was allowed to submit up to two photo slides and information about themselves. They were shown in alphabetical order as if the seniors were walking across the graduation stage.
The slides consumed the majority of the one hour and 14-minute video. Before it began, school district superintendent Pat Coen shared some words of inspiration. He did so from several locations across the school, seemingly teleporting across campus.
“You can allow these difficulties and misfortunes to negatively affect you, or you can show resilience,” he said. “I would encourage you to never forget where you came from. Always remember, once a grayhound, always a grayhound.”