Graduation Celebration an Unordinary Event

Lynden High School will attempt to retain as many graduation traditions as possible for the Class of 2020. But as the nearly 200 graduates already know, nothing quite looks the same as it once did. 

Graduation day was delayed to Friday, June 12, per state rules, and that is the time that friends, family and the community will be able to virtually experience this year’s graduation event. 

The plan has already started with a day recording the graduation ceremony happening on Saturday, June 6. This event allowed for the recording of traditional speeches and offered the opportunity for each individual graduate to walk across a “stage” to receive a diploma while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Those events will all be put together into a video production that will post on YouTube at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 12. 

Following the airing of the virtual graduation, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on June 12, graduates can then drive through the LHS parking lot to pick-up their actual diploma. 

Lynden Academy Celebrating 19 Graduating Seniors

Lynden Academy will have its own unique way of celebrating the 19 graduating seniors that make up its Class of 2020. 

Currently, the plan calls for a virtual graduation event with the diploma walk-through pre-recorded before the actual graduation date of June 12. As part of the June 12 package, pre-recorded speakers and the graduates’ walks will be made available for public viewing online. During the earlier walk-through recording session, Lynden Academy will set up a photo area so when seniors and their families come for the individual walk-through there is a place for photos. 

For the school’s original Graduation Celebration Day, scheduled for June 10, Lynden Academy plans to have seniors stand outside the school on the sidewalk in their cap and gown, safely distanced. This set-up offers a time for people to encourage the seniors by driving through the parking lot to wave, congratulate and cheer them on in a sort of “drive-through parade,” says Wendy Neff, Lynden Academy parent coordinator. Participants in the drive-through will remain in their cars with no public gathering in the parking lot. 

The Lynden Academy Class of 2020 is led by five students graduating with honors: Nathaniel Martens, Kolby Wynne, Emma Wadhams, Katlyn Neff and Levi Reed.