Resilient Creativity in a Time of COVID-19
Houghton, NY -- In the midst of packing up all of their
belongings and saying goodbye much earlier than expected, eight Houghton
seniors decided to make the best of a sad situation and hold their own
“commencement” ceremony.
First
row, kneeling from L-R: Erica Durbin and Jessica Witter. Second row from L-R:
Hannah Pender, Leah Wilson, Natalie Kyvik, Kathryn Reitnour, Bob Danner, Emilia
Blakeslee, Lydia Van Kirk and Ellirose Edwards.
The event was held on Saturday, March 14, at Yorkwood House,
where four of the eight friends had been living. Former Dean of Students (and
Dad of Yorkwood), Bob Danner, was asked to give out the diplomas. “I’ve never
been to a commencement where the robes were fabricated from large garbage bags,
and the caps were hand made by the graduates,” said Bob in a message to
President Shirley Mullen. “You would have been so proud of these students!”
The ceremony began with a violin processional played by
Emilia Blakeslee, followed by the opening prayer written and read by Leah
Wilson:
Dear Lord, as we join together on this bittersweet day,
we first and foremost thank You for bringing us together – today and for the
past four years. You have established our steps in ways that have made our
paths cross and align, sometimes diverging but always seeming to run parallel
in some way, whether close-by or farther apart. Now, in this final semester cut
short, we look to You both in gratitude and in search of solace. All of us have
gone through our own challenges, but we have reaped the blessing of the
presences of both You, Lord, and each other. We thank You for the blessing of
companionship, a comfort in sorely trying times. We thank you for the blessing
of the education we’ve received here, endowing us with the knowledge to serve
you in our respective fields. We thank you for the blessing of the times to
come, whether our paths are clear or our futures are not yet certain. You know
the plans You have for us – plans to prosper us and not to harm us. Instill in
us the sense of consolation so many of us desperately need. Bless us in this
ceremony. Spontaneous though it may be, it reflects at its core the love
between us, the growth we’ve all undergone here at Houghton, and the nervous
excitement we pray. Amen.
Moved by attitudes of the students during the ceremony, Bob,
who had donned his academic regalia for the event, described it this way: “A
group of dedicated, hard-working college friends, four years into the
experience, anticipating graduation, when an international health situation
apparently robs them of a commencement ceremony. How to respond? Be angry? No!
Celebrate together with creativity, thoughtfulness, and thanksgiving.”
Also contributing was honorary “senior” Sophie Tierney ’21,
who handed out special honors during the ceremony, and was the event
photographer; and Kathryn Reitnour ’85, who helped host the event and created
the diplomas.
When asked what message Bob and Kathryn would want to
communicate to this year’s senior class, they said, “Our prayer for the Class
of 2020 is that the agony of college interrupted will fade into the joy of
college remembered for its significance and all it has come to mean.”
