Virtual Ceremony Celebrates the Resilient Class of 2020
05/29/2020
By David Perry
Commencement 2020 wasn鈥檛 what anyone pictured, least of all the thousands of graduating students, or the families that supported them.
This ceremony 鈥� like so many other things 鈥� was shaped by the cruel and sudden sweep of a global pandemic that left the campus locked down and online since mid-March. But students, faculty and administrators made the best of the situation, gathering online to celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2020.
For the , the traditional graduation walk was replaced by a log-in, with graduates and their families tuning in online. The virtual event included speeches, music and congratulatory messages to honor a class that has finished the academic year under circumstances no one could have predicted at the start of the semester.
鈥淚 recognize this is no substitute for the day we all had planned for you at the Tsongas Center,鈥� noted Chancellor Jacquie Moloney 鈥�75 鈥�92 during the Friday evening online ceremony. She praised the graduates鈥� 鈥渉ard work, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit,鈥� noting such qualities will serve them well in the future. She challenged the graduates to turn 鈥渢hese very challenges into opportunities, just as you鈥檝e done every step along the way.鈥�
鈥淭he reality we are facing today doesn鈥檛 align with the optimistic future each of you represents,鈥� said UMass President Marty Meehan. 鈥淏ut we will get through this.鈥�
UMass Trustee Mary Burns 鈥�84 told the graduates they had committed to 鈥渁n important goal and you have achieved it while facing unprecedented challenges. Many have done this while working, meeting family responsibilities or performing community service.鈥�
Commencement celebrated the 4,434 graduates from 45 states and 108 nations. some of whom had already shown River Hawk spirit by working the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, or volunteered their services in other ways.
The ceremony included pre-recorded messages of congratulations from the likes of sports figures including NBC Sports鈥� Kathryn Tappen, ESPN鈥檚 John Buccigross, and Mike Golic and Mike Golic Jr., and NESN Red Sox announcers Tom Caron, Dave O鈥橞rien, Jerry Remy and Dennis Eckersley; TV personalities HGTV鈥檚 Taniya Nayak 鈥�97, WBZ-TV meteorologist Sarah Wroblewski 鈥�05, Food Network鈥檚 Robert Irvine, PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff, and MSNBC/Today Show political correspondent Steve Kornacki 鈥�17 (H), veteran actor Christopher Cooper (H) 鈥�16 and his wife, actress and author Marianne Leone Cooper 鈥�16 (H); and Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart 鈥�16 (H). Last year鈥檚 commencement speaker, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, also addressed the graduates.
鈥淵our time at 51视频 has developed your skills, honed your instincts and set your compass for success in all the years ahead,鈥� Polito said. 鈥淎s this nation and this commonwealth move forward to defeat the virus, rebuild our economy and emerge better and stronger and more unified than ever before, we will be looking to you, the class of 2020. You are our problem-solvers, you are our innovators and you are our rising stars and we need you right now more than ever.鈥�
Ed Goulet, who received his bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration, watched from his home in Plymouth. He was planning to celebrate his graduation with family and friends at 鈥渁 pretty big party鈥� that his wife Christine had planned at a brewery, until the coronavirus scuttled all plans.
鈥淭his is pretty special to me,鈥� said Goulet, a 2006 graduate of Coyle & Cassidy High School in Taunton. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time coming.鈥�
Goulet works in as a marine technician in Mashpee, delivering and repairing boats. A few years ago, he decided to wanted to move into management, so he enrolled in online classes at 51视频. He had tried other colleges before, but the fit was never 鈥渞ight.鈥�
鈥淚 heard 51视频鈥檚 online program was really good. I took two classes a semester while I worked and it was great,鈥� said Goulet.
Stacey Nwachukwu of Boston earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in public health, and will continue on at UML for her master鈥檚 degree in the fall. Under the current circumstances, she did not have plans for a big graduation celebration.
鈥淭his certainly isn鈥檛 what anyone expected,鈥� Nwachukwu said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first pandemic that I am old enough to understand. With time, things will get back to normal.鈥�
"We served as essential personnel in hospitals, grocery stores, gas stations and pharmacies 鈥� and performed a whole array of other services. We continued programs like the String Project, for kids in the Lowell community, by making music online, something previously dismissed as impossible. We donated whatever we could to help control the pandemic, while working tirelessly to find technologies to stop it,鈥� she said.
Record logged a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, one of more than 100 graduates to do so. The criminal justice major is heading to Boston鈥檚 Suffolk University Law School on a full scholarship.
Ending her Commencement address, Record quoted the Dropkick Murphys, Boston鈥檚 rock ambassadors and their song 鈥淭he Warrior鈥檚 Code,鈥� about the tenacity of Lowell native boxer Micky Ward.
鈥淵ou make the best of the hand you鈥檙e dealt, because a quitter never wins,鈥� Record said in quoting the lyric. 鈥淎nd the kid from Lowell rises to the bell.鈥�
Immediately following Record鈥檚 address, a special video greeting from the Dropkick Murphys aired.
The virtual ceremony incorporated numerous traditional graduation elements. The 51视频 Chamber Singers performed the National Anthem (via Zoom), and the 51视频 Army and Air Force ROTC Color Guard presented the colors.
Following the universitywide Commencement, each school and college recognized individual graduates in separate ceremonies. Deans Eleanor Abrams (College of Education), Luis Falcon (College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), Shortie McKinney (Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences), Noureddine Melikechi (Kennedy College of Sciences), Sandra Richtermeyer (Manning School of Business) and James Sherwood (Francis College of Engineering) led their respective school celebrations.
Earlier in the day, the Honors College held an informal celebration of its record class of 177 Commonwealth Honors Scholars. Over Zoom, faculty and staff announced three awards to students and played a video of the seniors鈥� graduation photos and honors capstone presentations.
Honors Dean Jim Canning and the Honors College faculty and staff raised a glass to toast all of the graduates as Canning urged them to repeat a three-part pledge after him: 鈥淟ive well. Be adventurous. Laugh a lot.鈥�
