A Socially Distant Graduation

During this unique time in our lives, we’ve all had to make a lot of changes to our daily routines, especially in the way we interact with people and the outside world.  Some of it has been incredibly stressful, but some of these changes have felt like a much-needed break as we’ve shifted our focus to what really matters; our loved ones and our health.  That’s certainly how it felt when I photographed the pre-graduation ceremony for Bernard Zell’s 8th grade class at the end of May. A very carefully orchestrated commencement caught on camera and video shared with the entire class on their official graduation day in June.

After sheltering-in-place in my apartment for two months I got an email from my clients at BZ reaching out to see if I would be comfortable, and available, to photograph this ceremony.  I was elated, ecstatic, and wee bit nervous. I couldn’t wait for an excuse to leave my house, but it had been months since I was at a paid gig and this would be my first job in this new COVID-19 world.  Prior to the gig I gathered as much information as I could get about how the event would work, it was important to me to work safely, keeping my distance from students and families while still capturing this big milestone.

With two camera bodies each holding a different zoom lens, an insulated lunchbox of frozen bandanas, water bottle, sunscreen, and an assortment of masks, I felt ready.  It was an unusually hot day for the end of May and I knew from the volunteer work I had been doing with local restaurants that my mask would get wet and I’d want to be able to change it regularly.  Now, this wasn’t going to be their typical official full class graduation ceremony since that would no longer be safe in this pandemic. Instead, they were staging the ceremony in small groups to be edited together later for their official graduation. Each family was only going to be on campus for approximately twenty minutes, outside the entire time since they weren’t allowed in the school buildings as Illinois was still under lockdown. I was going to be there all day long, in 96-degree heat and dressed all in black. Those frozen bandanas were an absolute lifesaver.

Each family arrived wearing their masks, many made by local Bernard Zell parent Merav Ruthman (visit her website for SarinaZac here). They were given a rundown of how the ceremony would flow and then instructed to take their places on the field, the students on one side, the parents on the other, standing at cones that were six feet apart.  Once they got to their cones they could take off their masks. Channeling his inner Michael Buffer, the Head of School, announced each student throwing in a fun personal detail and where they would be headed for high school next year.

The graduate met their parents in the center of the field where a table was waiting filled with empty diploma covers.  After grabbing the navy blue and gold embossed folder, it was time for a ceremonial run, walk, and even dance, through the balloon arch made up of the school colors, orange and blue.  Finally, the graduate and their family found me at the step & repeat set up by the front entrance.  Photos of each student with their family were captured along with individual portraits of each student, showing off their decorated caps, and hamming it up for the camera.

On the official graduation day in June, all of the students with their families gathered around their screens for their official graduation ceremony held over Zoom.  Running alongside me was a videographer, also capturing each moment of this graduation ceremony, and the video was edited together so the entire class could watch their entire class graduate, all together.  Speeches were made by both students and faculty, and the link to all the photos was shared so that families could download their favorites. It was incredible the way the staff at Bernard Zell brought this ceremony into the homes of their students, capturing the excitement and celebration of graduation while still keeping everyone safe from the spread of infection.

Last year I photographed Bernard Zell’s graduation as well and it was, obviously, a much different scene.  The parents sat in the seats watching their students take the stage to give their graduation speeches, accept their diplomas, and perform the songs they had been practicing for months.  Somehow this “distant” graduation felt so much closer.  Each family got to participate in the graduation ritual with their students, choreographing dances, lifting the graduate into the air, or throwing their caps to the skies.  Overall the ceremony centered more on the family and less on the individual graduate which I thought was a really nice change, after all, the families of these students had as much to do with hitting their big milestone as the students themselves.

Right now we are all in conversation about what school will look like for this coming year.  Many of us don’t know if our students will even set foot in a classroom.  But we do know that the 8th grade will graduate in the spring and hopefully, I’ll get to be there to capture it all once again.  Stay safe everyone!