On the five-minute car ride to Grosse
Pointe North High School's makeshift commencement, it didn't hit Hannah
Davis that she was getting ready to graduate.
When
she got out of the car and walked across the school's soccer field to
grab her diploma cover, having already received her certificate, it
still didn't seem over.
It wasn't until Davis was
walking away from her school's "honor drive" that it finally sunk in.
She was done with high school and this would be the only graduation she
would get.
"Everything that I feel like all of us
pictured our senior year to be, we only got like a little slither of
that," said Davis, 17, who is attending Michigan State University in the
fall. "It's difficult for a lot of us to actually feel that closure
because that's what senior year is about."
Like
many other high school seniors in Michigan, the realization that traditional celebrations, such as graduation and prom, could not happen was hard for Davis to accept. When the COVID-19 virus swept through the state, it caused an abrupt end to senior year events.
In
an attempt to compensate for lost ceremonies, high schools and
organizations around Metro Detroit created provisional events so
students could still celebrate their accomplishments. Davis credited her
mother, Michelle Davis, assistant principal at Grosse Pointe North,
with making the substitute ceremonies as meaningful as possible.
"I
know that I haven't had, like, official graduation, but I really
loved the honor drive ... it meant a lot because I know how hard she
works to set everything up for us and make it special," she said.
During
the school's "honor drive," a procession of cars rolled from Barnes
Elementary to high school. Once at the school, students got out of
the cars one by one accepted their diploma covers and then posed for
professional pictures in their caps and gowns.
Other
high schools in the area had staged virtual graduations, drive-by
ceremonies or just simply dropped off lawn signs, yearbooks, and cap and
gowns to their seniors.
"I just feel like my senior year was taken away from me. Everything that I was always looking
forward to is just gone now," said Isabel Gurganus, 18, a senior at
Chelsea High School.
Though
the schools are usually the ones to hold senior celebrations, a few nonprofit organizations and small businesses are stepping in to help.
Raphael
Mostyn, the founder of Mostyn Community Development, hosted virtual graduation on Friday after holding a virtual prom in May. The graduation, open to all Michigan high school seniors who registered, featured speakers such as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer,
motivational speaker Eric Thomas and author and entrepreneur Shawn T.
Blanchard.
"These events that students experience
with their friends, we know they create long-lasting memories," Mostyn
said. "We know they're never gonna never forget the pandemic ... but we
wanted to put something good in their corner during the pandemic
that they also can remember."
Two photography companies also decided to aid in helping seniors creating lasting
memories. Stephanie Traynor of Stephanie Traynor Photography in Flushing
and Ashley West of Ashley Mae Photography in Port Huron teamed up to
create a pay-what-you-can graduation photoshoot.
Traynor
said people can pay $1 or $1 million, though she wouldn't accept the
million. It's more on a tipping basis, Traynor said. They service an
area that includes Frankenmuth, Flint, Flushing, Bay City, Saginaw
and Lansing.
Each the student is offered a 15-minute session and given five digital images of their choice. They encourage students to bring their own cap and gowns and for families to come dressed nicely to participate in photos as well.
"It's a time to really reflect on all that
they've accomplished and got them extremely excited to embark on a new
journey," Traynor said.
"So a lot of them are missing out. And so I feel like this cap-and-gown session can give them a little bit of that back."