Emma Goularte, Special to the Herald

The year 2020 has been full of uncertainties and is sure to hold many more to come. For the 2020 graduates, the graduation ceremonies were unconventional. Each school district took a different approach to perform the ceremony. Some had drive-thrus, where students drove to pick up their diplomas and staff from the schools stood by cheering for the graduates.

Other schools had videos or even a similar mixture of both, but each high school or college took the situation and handled it differently. Some may even say they preferred this method better compared to the traditional graduation ceremony – not having to sit outside in the hot sun for a long drawn out ceremony can be a positive, but also the normal experience was missed.

In addition to high schools, colleges are also taking different precautions to prepare for the 20-21 school year. Some colleges are having students return to campus in the fall while others are going to continue with distance learning.

Here is a look at a few students college plans:

Mason Donabedian, who graduated from Benicia High School, will be going to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. As of now, Cal Poly isn’t certain about the policies they will have, evaluating the developing situation throughout the summer until they come to a final decision. As of right now, it looks like Cal Poly will continue with distance learning, but they are trying their best to get freshmen on campus.

“It will be doable,” said Donabedian. “Maybe a little harder, but doable.”

Joseph Birdseye, who graduated from Benicia High School, will be going to Solano Community College in the fall. His entire first semester will be online and there is still uncertainty for the second semester.

Nicole May, who graduated from Foothill High School, will be attending the University of Oklahoma in the fall. Currently they are planning to have smaller class sizes and larger classes via Zoom. The plan is still in the process of being finalized, so it is still subjected to change.

“I believe every school is doing their best to best fit their students and keep everyone safe,” said May. “Everyone is going through this time together, so I think that’ll make it easier on everyone.”

Reid Burford, who graduated from Benicia High School, will be attending Oregon State University in the fall. OSU will be on campus, but class sizes will be smaller and large classes will be held remotely. After Thanksgiving break, students will stay home through Dec., then all students will return back on campus in Jan.

Hannah Saitz, who graduated from Benicia High school, will be attending the University of Nevada, Reno. As of now, they are still debating the new policies, but there are currently phases for the students depending on how big the class sizes are.

“I don’t think it will be doable at all, but it’s not like I have control of it so you just have to deal,” said Saitz.

Braden Begbie, who graduated From Benicia High School, will be attending Diablo Valley College in the fall. The current model will be distance learning, while only making exceptions for lab classes which will be somewhat held in-person.

“I think that with some hard work and resourceful professors, the classes will be manageable, but most definitely more challenging than if we were to attend in-person,” said Begbie.

Many schools still hold uncertainties within their policies or they are still working on a plan. Most schools are doing everything they can to get their students on campus, especially the students that don’t live nearby. It is scary not knowing what the future holds when graduates have worked so hard for this. However, the future is still ours and it’s exciting.

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