Every time an Emerson Academy student walked across the stage Sunday at RiverPark Center, Diana Rumage had to do everything she could to refrain from hugging the students she’s grown to love.
Rumage is the student assistance coordinator at Emerson and said Sunday was bittersweet because the students she sees on a near-daily basis weren’t able to get the congratulations they deserved due to COVID-19.
“It was intensely saddening,” she said. “This is a time they have all worked toward and then at the end, we usually have a reception with cake, take tons of pictures. And this year, we’ve had to make sure they exit the premises and we can’t hug, we can’t take pictures.
“It’s sad because they have worked so hard and a lot of them have had to overcome so many obstacles. This has been extremely hard for a lot of them and not to be able to share that with them has been very hard.”
Emerson had 19 students walk across the stage, and each one was introduced in a different way as principal Kevin Thompson gave an anecdote about each individual prior to them receiving their diploma.
“I’m really proud of our kids from a standpoint of they already have to go through adversity, and with the pandemic, that just added to it,” he said. “I’m very proud that they were able to persevere and complete all the requirements to get their diploma.”
Several measures were put in place, as temperature testing, assigned seating and social distancing could be seen throughout the ceremony.
Resiliency was the first word from Rumage when she was asked about the Class of 2020.
“When COVID hit, I immediately thought ‘Oh my gosh,’” she said. “Some are not going to stay on task because it’s the nature of being a teenager — and look at them, they all did. They all maintained, they were determined, they stayed in touch with staff, one way or the other. Sometimes I’d get frantic messages about ‘Did I get this credit?’ We had one that just finished a month ago. Just their resiliency and determination to get this done amidst a pandemic. It’s just fascinating. It was very good to see.”
