Celebrating the Class of 2020

Young people have had it tough in recent decades.

American Millennials (born 1981-1996) had their childhood innocence shattered by Columbine and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, struggled in a tough job market when the Great Recession hit, and are now burdened with astonishing levels of debt while raising young families during a pandemic and a failing economy that may take even longer to recover than the Great Recession.

But the Americans of Generation Z (born 1997-2012) have arguably suffered even worse. They are growing up in a post-9/11 world in a country that is perpetually at war with a sky-high deficit and shredded social safety net. School shootings are now so common that lockdown drills and the trauma of mass murders of young people every year are a fact of life. And now Gen Z is experiencing an unprecedented interruption of their youth as the pandemic has dramatically altered—and sometimes canceled—the formative experiences and celebrations that generations of young adults previously enjoyed.

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Classes with friends. After school activities. Sporting events. School dances: All canceled.

And for the high school and college seniors of the Class of 2020, the transformative moment that defines the end of one era and the beginning of the next: graduation. Not canceled, but transformed in the age of social distancing to keep young people and their families safe—if disappointed.

Here are some ways that Super Awesome People™ around the United States are making graduation special for the Class of 2020. We may not be together in person, but we are together in the spirit of celebration.

Ways America is Celebrating the Class of 2020

• In Marine Park, Brooklyn, James Madison High School staff decorated the fence around their school with portraits of the 750 graduating seniors of the Class of 2020.
• In Tennessee, a proud father set up a stage and podium for an at-home commencement celebration in honor of his daughter’s graduation from Xavier University of Louisiana.
• In Alexandria, Virginia, teachers and staff of T.C. Williams High School surprised 28 high-achieving seniors who had completed the Advanced Placement Capstone with a caravan of cheering supporters and the delivery of the students’ graduation stoles.
• Drive-thru graduations are being held around the United States, giving seniors a way to remain socially distant (in their family cars) while recreating many of the commencement traditions.
• Seniors from Florida’s Flagler County School District will have their drive-thru ceremonies at Daytona International Speedway on May 31, culminating in a victory lap around the racetrack for each graduate. Speedway High School in Indiana has planned a similar ceremony for their seniors on May 24 at the nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500.
• On May 16, 2020, an hour-long graduation special celebrated the Class of 2020 with Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020, hosted by LeBron James. Boasting an impressive roster of special guests and performers (including Malala Yousafzai, Ben Platt, Alicia Keys, Megan Rapinoe, Pharrell Williams, Kevin Hart, and Dua Lipa), and with a commencement speech delivered by former President Barak Obama.
• SpaceX and NASA have invited graduating students to submit their photos (by May 20, 2020) to an Earth mosaic made up of students from around the world. The mosaic will be flown aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on a mission to the International Space Station.
• And in a twist on the Adopt a[n Elderly] Senior initiative, people around the country are “adopting” high school seniors to shower them with gifts and attention to make their interrupted final year of high school a little more special. You can join their efforts on Facebook here (the “Original”) or here (the “National”) Adopt a High School Senior groups.

Although we may not be able to reassure young people that the pandemic will end soon, the economy will fully recover, or that their lives will quickly return to a pre-pandemic normal, we can give them the encouragement and adulation they deserve and celebrate their accomplishments, in every way possible.