In the spring of 2020, COVID-19 led to worldwide shutdowns. “Unprecedented” became everyday vocabulary and high school seniors preparing for their graduations watched those plans be canceled as they hunkered down at home.
On Sunday, four years later, more than 300 of those students—and their families and friends—had their moment to celebrate well-earned diplomas at Whitman College’s 138th Commencement.
On a breezy Sunday morning in front of the traditional setting of Memorial Building, President Sarah Bolton welcomed the graduates and the crowd and acknowledged how this class’s collegiate start began online, separated by distance and the threat of disease.
“Despite all that uncertainty, you took the courageous step to start college anyway—from around the corner or across the world,” said Bolton, who congratulated the class on their resilience and on helping move Whitman forward in their time as students.
“Together, you rebuilt the life of this college as the world gradually reopened … Together, you made a new, stronger Whitman—one that has new student organizations, new ways of building community, new landscapes, new ways serving communities in Walla Walla and around the world.”
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