MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Graduates in the class of 2020 are finding unique ways to celebrate

May 23, 2020, 4:20 PM | Updated: Oct 7, 2024, 9:48 am

The Class of 2020 is graduating in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, isolated at home. Non-essential travel is banned. The job market is frozen, and dismal. And beloved rites of passage are either on an indefinite hold or cancelled entirely.

This week, reporter Aaron Granillo follows how this year’s graduates are getting creative with celebrating here in Washington, despite the circumstances.

Kristine White in Everett, Wash., is a graduating college senior. She reported on the sudden cancellation of her spring semester for her college newspaper, then returned home to her childhood bedroom to finish her classes online. You can read the letter she wrote about her experience here.

Several students at the University of Washington are asking for a partial tuition refund after an unexpected spring quarter online.

A virtual graduation with a hologram of your principal or university president handing out degrees might be coming to a stage near you soon. We check in with the company behind the hologram’s Wizard of Oz curtain, Vx3. And you can watch a demonstration of one their hologram graduations here.

Gee Scott from The Gee and Ursula Show explains the special way they want to help celebrate this year’s graduates: with a star-studded virtual commencement ceremony, and by playing parent messages to their graduating seniors on air.

Gee and Ursula Show Class of 2020 Commencement Show!

Finally, what to do about the worst job market since the Great Depression? KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross calls up certified career coach and Seattle Times columnist Kathryn Saxer to get some advice for anyone looking for that first job out of college.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide wildfire emergency. (Photo: WA. Dept. of Natu...

Tom Brock

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declares statewide wildfire emergency

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency Saturday, which includes a prohibition on most outdoor and agricultural burning.

3 minutes ago

The I-90 floating bridge across Lake Washington. (Photo: Getty Images)...

Tom Brock

Search for a missing man in Lake Washington called off after extensive water and air sweeps

The Coast Guard and the Mercer Island Police Marine Patrol called off a search for a man who apparently fell off a boat on Lake Washington.

58 minutes ago

The Washington Monument is seen in the background of the now drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Po...

Associated Press

Trump blasts Pirro after she refutes his claim that Reflecting Pool was damaged by vandals

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday sharply criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s assessment that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of shoddy construction and not the work of vandals, as he claims. Pirro’s office, in a moved to drop criminal charges against a former Olympian, David Hearn, who had […]

2 hours ago

A water tower is seen Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Plymouth, Minn. A cyberattack targeted the operat...

Associated Press

FBI investigates as Michigan joins Minnesota in reporting cyberattacks on its water systems

Michigan on Saturday joined Minnesota in reporting cyberattacks on nine of the state’s water systems but an official said all systems were operating “safely.” Earlier this week, authorities said cyberattacks targeted over 30 water systems in Minnesota. The source of the attacks is being investigated, but they came amid warnings that Iranian hackers have been […]

2 hours ago

Daniel Aragonez leaves a cooling center in Los Angeles, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hon...

Associated Press

Heat wave expected to bring record-breaking temps, heighten wildfire risk to parts of Western US

A dangerous heat wave will bring record-breaking temperatures to parts of the Western U.S. this weekend, prompting warnings for people to stay inside and heightening wildfire risks in areas that already are dry or burning. A ridge of high pressure is holding heat close to the ground — what’s known as a heat dome — […]

2 hours ago

FILE - This photo provided by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy in Ju...

Associated Press

Michigan Supreme Court rejects permit for Enbridge oil pipeline under Great Lakes

The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered state regulators to reconsider a key permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry an oil pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move forward. The 6-1 decision further clouds the future of the 73-year-old pipeline owned by Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge that carries petroleum from Superior, […]

4 hours ago

Graduates in the class of 2020 are finding unique ways to celebrate