Regalia, cheers, and a concerted ceremony are some of the ingredients that go into celebrating a class on their day of graduation. The Covid-19 pandemic brought much uncertainty to the future of school gatherings as early as March of 2020. Loomis Chaffee had a tall order to fill in updating and managing a global community of students. In the case study below, I expand on the school's efforts to carry on with the 104th commencement ceremony when no students were admitted back on campus to shelter and socially distance. Using evidence, I explore the different avenues that the school used to create a cohesive virtual community during unprecedented times that threatened the well-being of society.

 

As a member of the Loomis Chaffee body, I was interested in how the school's unanimous decision to carry through a different celebration resembled the traditional events surrounding graduation. The efforts to live out the institution's commitment to the "best self" led to a graduation that united a global community through a virtual commencement, a delivery of a package full of memorabilia, and the mailing of degrees. While it was not the ideal situation, the community at Loomis Chaffee, from in-dorm faculty, teaching faculty, staff, and administration,  used every resource possible to reach, congratulate and celebrate the class of 2020 from a distance.