TENNERTON — On June 26ᵗʰ, the Buckhannon-Upshur High School senior class of 2020 gathered at Freal “Red” Crites Football Stadium for their official graduation ceremony. This event occurred after students spent months learning remotely from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the graduates walking the stage to receive their diplomas, Senior Class President John Logan Leigh delivered a final address to his class.
“This year we have faced many problems that no future class should ever have to face,” Leigh stated. “We did not know if we would even get to this point, but here we are.”
“We didn’t get a prom, we missed out on field trips, but we got graduation; that’s one thing! Years from now, we can look back and say, ‘man, our senior year was special.’ This is something that they’re going to learn about for decades.
We set a record for senior skip day too. That’s number one. That’s most important.”
Then, Leigh discussed the challenges that the 2020 graduating class will face, entering into the world currently affected by COVID-19.
“Now we must use what we have learned from this challenging year to begin a future that will be filled with many uncertainties. We will be the first graduating class living in the COVID-19 world.
What we must remember is that these are not the most trying times. After World War II, Winston Churchill famously said, ‘This is not the end. This is not even the beginning. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning.’
And that is where we are now, the end of the beginning. Now, we must go our separate ways, and find our new beginnings.”
The 2020 senior class consisted of 262 students.