Members of the SAERC community are celebrating grads in spite of COVID-19.
The virus means traditional graduation ceremonies aren’t an option, but parents and grads in the Quad Counties haven’t let that stop them; SAERC grads are going to the Allan J. MacEachen Regional Airport Saturday.
John Ouellette, one of the organizers of the community-led event, tells The Hawk it sends a great message to the kids.
“We’ll be facing lots of things,” he says. “You work as a community together, you count on your neighbours, you count on your friends, you count on your family, and you can get some things done.”
Ouellette says it won’t make up for what they’ve missed, but it’s what parents can do to launch their kids into the next phase of their lives.
He says they might have tried to do something later if this event wasn’t an option.
“The reality is everybody’s got plans of where they’re going to be going, and this allows them to mark the end of 13 years of education with their friends and with their family,” he says. “It’s really once in a lifetime for many of them to have that opportunity to recognize everything that they’ve accomplished.”
Ouellette says the festivities are for grads and family members only because of COVID-19 restrictions.
He says they’ll start with a physically distant procession and aerial photo in front of the school, then move to the airport for presentations to graduates, speeches, and a special parent/grad car-side dance.
