Graduating with care

Tucumcari High School's virtual commencement exercises Friday evening may have been designed to foster social distancing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but there was nothing distant or cold about it.

The ceremony, held outdoors on a stage erected in the high school's bus lane instead of its traditional spot inside Rattler Gymnasium, brought new wrinkles for its 58 seniors to make the gala memorable, including shooting fireworks from the parking lot and confetti cannons near the stage after they received their diploma from superintendent Aaron McKinney.

"We ordered the confetti cannons last week from Amazon and paid more for shipping to make sure we'd get them on time," McKinney said. "I thought the ceremony went well."

Class of 2020 valedictorian Ashley Shipley said during a phone interview Saturday she enjoyed the unusual ceremony.

"I thought it was a pretty good one, considering all the things we had to go through to get to it," she said. "I was nervous; I just didn't want to trip on the stage."

Shipley said the confetti blasts were a surprise.

"I had no clue about the confetti," she said. "That was kind of cool. It kind of scared me, though, when they went off."

Save for a few members of each graduate's family and school employees, there were no crowds around the stage or in the adjacent lot in an effort to not break the state's public-gatherings ban. Everyone involved with the ceremony wore masks. The ceremony was streamed live on the internet and KTNM radio.

Before the event, staff directed each graduate and his or her family's vehicle to a numbered parking spot near Rattler Gymnasium. Once the ceremony began, they guided each vehicle into the bus lane to a designated spot for their turn in the ceremony.

When the event began, staff guided each graduate from the vehicle onto a red carpet, where he or she walked onto the stage to receive a diploma. The vehicle's driver was directed to the stage's left side, where family members could get out to take pictures of the graduate's big moment. Immediately after that, a professional photographer took a portrait of each graduate, who then was allowed to remove the mask. They and their families then returned to their vehicle and departed.

The official program had included pledges to the U.S. and New Mexico flags, speeches by Shipley and salutatorian Tianna Peterson and a presentation of the class' history as part of the ceremony. But those were eliminated due to time considerations.

High school principal Nicole Bright-Lesly, during brief remarks at the start of the ceremony, acknowledged the heartbreak caused by the cancellation of classes and activities starting in mid-March during the pandemic. She said the experience would give the students more resilience and perseverance.

Shipley concurred with that assessment.

"The online learning was definitely something new and difficult and weird," she said of that spring. "But, hey, it just means the Class of 2020 is even better because we had to go through weird stuff to get to it."

Even with a streamlined program, it took nearly two hours for all the seniors to receive diplomas. Twilight was setting in when Erica Vasquez, the last member of the Class of 2020, was recognized.

Another change in the program was the district set up a photo backdrop at the nearby Tucumcari Convention Center instead of to the left of the stage.

"We were happy with that because we knew it would make (commencement) flow more," McKinney said.

Many families decorated their vehicles for the occasion. Most attached balloons in the school colors of purple, gold and white. Others attached personal messages that included: "The tassel was worth the hassle!"

Most vehicles at the drive-in graduation were regular cars or SUVs. A few packed nearly the back of pickup trucks. Loren Chavez's family brought a small converted school bus that carried about 10 people.

Personal touches included Bright-Lesly giving congratulatory elbow bumps instead of handshakes to many graduates.

McKinney also motioned school board president Leif Gray onto the stage so he could give a diploma to his daughter, Gabriella. The same happened with Christopher Birch, who gave a diploma to his son, Ryan.

A few families had hooted and hollered during previous Tucumcari commencement ceremonies when their graduating child's name was called. This time, honking car horns were heard in the distance from nearby streets and parking lots.

After the ceremony, hundreds of people lined Tucumcari Boulevard as graduates and their families drove serpentine style down Route 66's two eastbound lanes during an informal parade, escorted by the city's emergency vehicles.