NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
Taylor Buziak stands with her family on the Crescent Heights High School stage Wednesday while celebrating graduation.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
Though it was not the way any had imagined, Crescent Heights High School seniors were able to walk across the stage one by one Wednesday to celebrate their graduation.
Each student was able to bring family members through the front of the school to collect their gowns and caps. They then had five minutes in the CHHS auditorium to take photos with their principal and their loved ones. After that, each student’s group travelled to the cafeteria where two more photo stations had been set up.
Bryan Cabarloc brought his family with him to graduate and says this type of ceremony was a good way to turn a negative into a positive.
“Graduating has always been my life goal – I feel really great about this and I’ve been looking forward to it for so long,” he said. “It sucks that it had to happen this way, but it is what it is.
“We’re all here and graduating – that’s something to be proud of.”
Cabarloc thanked the school for setting up a safe way for students to graduate under the circumstances.
“It was different and shorter than normal, but it was safe,” he said.
More than 180 students graduated from CHHS this year and first-year principal Kelly Pitman says it was a great year, despite being shortened.
“This is a special group of students,” he said. “They’re incredibly athletic, artistic and they really cared about each other.
“This group really bonded well with their teachers and it has been a pleasure to work with them.”
Pitman says he has never seen a graduation like this during his years in education.
“This is definitely a unique style of graduation,” he said. “The organizing committee has done an incredible job getting everything set up and keeping people safe.
“The excitement is real and you can feel it.”
