For a second year in a row, 91原创鈥檚 university students have had their graduation season interrupted by COVID-19.
This time around, however, the graduates had a plan.
TWU鈥檚 student association (TWUSA) created an outdoor drive-thru graduation banquet to honour the class of 2021.
While the virtual graduation ceremony is forthcoming on May 1, TWUSA鈥檚 socially spaced drive-thru graduation banquet was held April 10, on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the university鈥檚 91原创 campus.
Cindy Easterina, from Indonesia, was among the class of 2021 who registered to attend the outdoor celebration, which was open to graduates and those who wanted to celebrate with them.
鈥淚t means a lot to me, because my family鈥檚 not here,鈥 said Easterina, who has achieved a degree in psychology with a certificate in human services.
Easterina鈥檚 family had been saving funds to travel to Canada for Cindy鈥檚 graduation but could not come due to pandemic travel restrictions. In their place, Easterina asked TWU staff member Trina Pinzon, assistant director of global projects, to accompany her to the outdoor graduation as her stand-in family.
Angel Smith, from Vancouver Island, is graduating from the same program as Easterina.
鈥淐OVID has taken away the fun aspect of being able to celebrate,鈥 she said, but 鈥淭WUSA has done a really good job and Trinity as a whole has done a really good job at making us feel appreciated.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 a way for us to celebrate our accomplishment one way or another,鈥 Smith said of the transformed banquet. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice. I really appreciate it.鈥
R茅al Boudreau from Nova Scotia is the TWUSA representative for the faculty of natural and applied sciences, and one of the event鈥檚 organizers.
鈥淏ecause we can鈥檛 have a normal banquet, we鈥檙e having a drive-through,鈥 Boudreau said.
鈥淲e encourage all the grads to come through and have a great time,鈥 said the fourth-year biology and business major, who was helping to distribute pre-packaged food and party favours to graduates.
鈥 READ MORE: New 91原创 community garden gets test run this spring at TWU
Daniela Lombardo, from Mexico, is a fourth-year international studies major and this year鈥檚 TWUSA president. She said that the purpose of the event is simple: to celebrate graduating students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to help students feel closure within their degree,鈥 she said.
Saturday鈥檚 drive-thru graduation banquet stretched along TWU鈥檚 91原创 campus walkway and consisted of 10 pit stops.
Every academic department hosted their own outdoor station, greeting graduates and their families, and giving gifts. Gifts included potted plants, mugs, edible goodies and TWU-namesake souvenirs.
Graduates and guests visited each station on foot or drove by slowly in their cars, while being cheered by faculty and classmates along the way.
The finale of the outdoor banquet included a livestream program on TWUSA鈥檚 YouTube channel, featuring speeches and a video montage created by the TWU Pillar yearbook team.
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