COLUMBIA, S.C. — It’s no secret that 2020 graduates have had an odd year whether it be college or high school.
Many Midlands high school seniors have been graduating this week, and each school with their own take on safety guidelines.
Dutch Fork High School graduate Taylor Perkins says she will definitely remember her ceremony, “We were only allowed to bring four family members and we were told we had to have our masks on and the second that we handed our card we took our mask off, walked up to where it said stand here, smile for our picture, went to the sanitation station and put it back on.”
Perkins graduated from Dutch Fork Thursday morning and said many things were different, “Its usually held inside at Colonial Life Arena but they're shut down until August so they moved our graduation outside. But I kind of liked it on the field because it was really wholesome and it felt like we were at home.”
Columbia High School graduated, also with masks required at Bolden Stadium, and instead of handshakes, elbow bumps as they walked across stage.
"It was tough," Columbia High graduate Vandy Williams says, "It ate me up when we couldn’t come to school anymore on March 13th and after that I just had to do it on my own, pass, and do it for my Mama.”
These safety precautions didn’t stop students from all over the Midlands from cherishing the special day.
“I’ll definitely remember it," says Perkins, "This is definitely something that has changed, not only me but every body and honestly probably the whole class of 2020.”
Williams plans on going into the Navy and Perkins will be attending Lander University in the fall to study special education.
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