#15 Three of us earned our diplomas during the 2020/2021 COVID19 pandemic and here's how schools conducted our graduation

    My daughter, wife, and I earned our diplomas during the COVID19 pandemic. Graduating during this historic upheaval had brought us both sorrow and joy. Sorrow because we felt we were short-changed of the recognitions we deserved. We did not have the joyous ceremonies, public accolades, and after-graduation get-together with friends and families to celebrate with us. 

    However, we also felt joy because we successfully completed our degrees after years of hard work and many sacrifices. We also felt double-successes because we survived the demands of school and the hardships brought by the pandemic at the same time. We were blessed with thriving amid a life-threatening global health crisis.

Here's a chart of how our schools conducted graduation ceremonies.

	South River High School	University of Maryland Baltimore	The George Washington University
Date of degree conferred	May 2020	May 2020	August 2021
Virtual graduation?	No	Yes, for Spring and Fall 2020 cohorts	Yes, for Spring and Fall 2020 cohorts
Face-to-face graduation	June 1, 2020 drive-through	December 16, 2021  live-streamed and recorded	October 2, 2021  live-streamed and recorded
Cohorts	2020	Spring/Fall 2020 and 2021	Spring/Fall 2020 and 2021
Level	High School	School of Nursing	University-wide
Venue	Outdoor at the school parking lot	Indoor, The Hippodrome (Baltimore, MD)	Outdoor, On the Mall (Washington DC)
Number of guests	4 guests inside a car	No guest allowed	Up to 4 guests with proof of vaccination
Type of mask	Any type	N95 or NK95	Any type
Length	15-30 minutes	1 hour	2 hours