Students stage graduation during quarantine

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Jessica Boyajian, Staff

It’s the class of 2020’s graduation year. In these unprecedented time, there has been a running joke that this year’s graduation will be over Zoom.

Now, since Gov. Sununu announced that schools will be closed for the rest of the year, and remote learning will likely continue into June, some seniors are using their time in quarantine creatively.

Seniors Emma Cox and Samantha Boyajian recently took part in a graduation…photo shoot. 

(Above: Emma Cox)

Using a green and white tassel from an old graduation cap and a camera Boyajian received for Christmas in 2019, the two girl created a graduation. Capturing both happy and sad moments, the two girls expressed their own emotions about leaving Pembroke Academy and heading into a new chapter in their lives. 

Cox said the best part of the shoot was mentally leaving quarantine.

“I was able to pretend, for a moment, the everything was normal, and I was walking across a stage in my cap and gown,” Cox said.

(Above: Samantha Boyajian)

For Boyajian, the shoot was a chance to let go and “be silly for a little bit.”

“If we can’t have graduation, I wanted to feel like I’ve grasped some part of it,” said Boyajian. “Seniors are in an interesting state of mind because it’s so easy to give up. We were so close to the end of this weird part of life, and then COVID-19 came. But the more humor we can find in the situation, the better.”

[Writer’s note: While the group of us did not stay six feet apart, all of us had been quarantined for at least fourteen day, as recommended by the CDC. No one was in danger of spreading or catching COVID-19.]