Onto a Whole New World
Alexia Issagholian attends her drive-through graduation ceremony at Hoover High School
June 12, 2020
So this is how the Hoover High School Class of 2020 waved, cried, and hugged goodbye.
Hoover’s students graduated in an unexpected way on Wednesday. Instead of beginning their procession through the tunnels on the field, graduates lined up their cars heading East on Olmstead, turned right onto School Street and then right onto Glenwood Road, where students picked up their diplomas as the music played and teachers, administrators and others said their farewells. The front of the school was decorated in flowers, balloons, and banners — clearly not shy of past ceremonies. Smiles wrapped longer than the cars awaiting, and parents had euphoric energy to their child’s success.
“I felt great, I felt happy, but it was also very surreal. It didn’t feel like how I thought graduation would feel like. I was very content with how it went.”
Mandating social distancing called for an unforgettable senior year for this year’s class. Social distancing meant remote learning, a cancellation of prom, and a modified graduation ceremony. Students left Hoover on March 13, not knowing it would be their last early morning alarm, steps through the upper quad, or passing bell to class.
“My heart was happy and sad at the same time,” said Emily Hovsepian, the Class of 2020 President. “I had so many hopes and plans for how senior year would turn out, but I knew if any class would go through this pandemic and come out successful, it was the class of 2020. It was my friends and family that made it special for me.”
Hovsepian, her friends and classmates returned to Hoover on Wednesday to cap their secondary education. The 13-year wait for a transitional, graduation ceremony came to a close three hours after it started after the final students took their iconic picture in their cap and gown in front of a Hoover High backdrop.
And onto a whole new world the Class of 2020 went.
