Annual Report 2019-2020
Celebrities Highlight Virtual Commencement
The spring class of 2020 participated in the university's first-ever virtual commencement ceremony.
First-ever Virtual
Commencement Spotlights BSU’s Best
The same day Dr. Aminta Breaux announced that the remainder of Bowie State’s spring 2020 semester would be completed online because of COVID-19, senior class president Diamond Lyles called to brainstorm ideas to replace the in-person commencement for the Class of 2020’s nearly 700 graduates. The pivot: the university’s first virtual graduation, a new way of continuing its purposeful commitment to celebrating academic excellence.
“Closure was definitely needed and I think everybody agreed on that. Seeing my picture and my friends’ pictures on the screen kind of did it for me,” said Lyles, a criminal justice major with a concentration in forensics. “Everybody was posting online and congratulating each other. I think it was pretty similar to what the real day would have felt like.”
Prior to the ceremony, the Class of 2020 was mailed a gift box of BSU swag to help cheer themselves on during the livestreamed photos and videos. Most commencements include one keynote speech, but an atypical year calls for an atypical approach. The graduation committee enlisted 22 luminaries in sports, politics and pop culture—from Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and U.S. Senator Cory Booker to entertainers Debbie Allen and La La Anthony to NBA star Victor Oladipo and author Wes Moore—to deliver short videos of wisdom, encouragement and congratulations to the graduates.
The pandemic kept participants physically apart, but BSU dexterity still brought people together. “I’m a first-generation college graduate, so my family was excited,” said Lyles. “We all sat in the living room like we were watching the Soul Train Awards or something. It was a big event at our house.”
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