HOPE — Spirits were high May 8 when graduating seniors of the Hope High School Class of 2020 drove through the HHS campus to collect awards and regalia for the historic virtual graduation ceremony set for May 29.
\r\nHHS will have an on-line commencement at 6 p.m. May 29, the first ever, as a result of the closure of all public schools in Arkansas during the COVID-19 illness.
\r\nHHS Principal Bill Hoglund invited a number of teachers and Hope School Board members on campus to document the moment and to cheer on the seniors… from a distance.
\r\nHoglund and his wife, HHS business teacher Terri Hoglund, presented Giovanni Randle with the Heidi Hoglund Scholarship in honor of their daughter, HHS alumnus Heidi Hoglund, who was lost to a car accident.
\r\nCaps and gowns have already been distributed; and, some wore their Bobcat red although students were required to stay in their vehicles, many of which were decorated to commemorate the occasion.
\r\nHoglund has asked seniors to dress in their graduation regalia and produce a 30-60 second video clip to be included in a professionally created YouTube broadcast on May 29. He said videos will be presented in conjunction with each student’s senior cap and gown photo as each student’s name is called in the graduation order.
\r\nHoglund emphasized the deadline for video clips is May 13.
\r\nDetailed instructions regarding graduation have been sent to each senior student.
\r\nNoted artist and HHS graduate Steven Walden, of St. Louis, is the scheduled commencement speaker, Hoglund said.
(Accompanying photos by SHEILA HOPSON for Hope Public Schools)
