The coronavirus has affected everyone in ways that makes it look like life as we know it will be altered due to this pandemic. 2020 high school seniors will never get to experience the traditional graduation most of us had the pleasure of having. As an alternative, a principal in North Carolina took it upon himself to visit every graduating senior from his high school at their respective homes, according to
forwp-incontent-ad1">Tabari Wallace, the principal at West Craven High School in Vanceboro, North Carolina, along with a group of his teachers, drove to each and every one of the high school’s 220 graduating seniors on April 27 to personally congratulate them as the Class of 2020. He appeared at each student’s home wearing a cap and gown and carried a sign that displayed the graduate’s senior class photo.
There are still plans for the seniors to receive their diplomas in the traditional way later in the year. But, this served as an appreciation and acknowledgment of the tough times they have had to face because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We decided to deliver signs along with a parade … because we believe that they’ve been through enough and that’s the least we can do,” he said this past Monday. “We asked each senior to let that sign serve as a bridge until we can get them across the traditional stage. Our kids elected, through student voice, that they wanted a traditional graduation with all the pomp and circumstance so this particular school is going to make sure that our kids graduate on Aug. 1 or Dec. 19.”
Wallace, the 2018 North Carolina Principal of the Year, has a message for other graduating high school seniors across the country:
“To all other graduates, I tell you right now: We believe in you. We trust in you. We’re proud of you. And, we definitely empathize with what you’re going through. You keep your head up high because you are the testament of the 21st century. Perseverance through the face of danger. And then we all come out on top,” he said.