Graduates from Miller Comprehensive Catholic High School may have been a little warmer in their caps and gowns than most.
Miller’s Class of 2020 convocated Tuesday morning during a special outdoor ceremony.
“It was definitely a bit different of an experience than we thought going into the 2020 school year,” said Miller graduate Liam Harding.
Graduating classes across Saskatchewan had their initial convocation plans scrapped due to COVID-19. On Tuesday, the Miller grads said they had no idea how their big day was going to turn out.
“I was not expecting this,” David Hamad said. “I’m just really happy I got to share this experience with my family and my friends.”
The day was filled with mixed emotions, ranging from jubilation and excitement to longing.
Amy Johnson said she was thankful but a bit sad during the ceremony.
“Everybody always wants the big grad with everybody in the big theatre but this is kind of just what the world is like right now,” Johnson said.
But her disappointment was mitigated by the excitement of her fellow Miller students and faculty.
“I love how enthusiastic all the teachers are. Even teachers that I’ve never had before were there cheering me on, which felt really great,” Johnson said. “They did their best to make this as special as possible when we couldn’t have what we planned.”
The socially distanced ceremony had students walk down a red carpet and across the stage, where they moved their tassels left to right and picked up their diplomas. Then it was off the stage for photos in front of balloons spelling out “Grad 2020” before students ran through a chute of teachers cheering and waving pompoms.
“It was just ecstatic, everyone with their pompoms, all the teachers. I was like, ‘Oh my god,’ ” Hamad said. “This really made me happy … I love Miller.”
“It’s always awkward, but you love it anyways and you love how much effort they put into this,” Johnson said with a smile. “It feels so good to actually be done.”
“It felt really good just to look back on the four years and see all your staff and teachers that have helped you along the way, for them to be by your side,” Harding added.
Johnson’s mom, Debbie, said she was impressed with Miller’s commitment to its graduates, despite the obvious difficulties presented this year.
“It was exciting to see the teachers and the administration put together the celebration that they could for this, to acknowledge the kids and all the hard work that they did,” Debbie said.
“I would have loved to walk through the teachers like that so I think it’s all in all a totally different experience,” added Amy Johnson’s older sister, Jenna.