He said he was thankful that school administrators will be doing what they can, including showing their graduation ceremony on a local drive-in’s screen for two nights, as well as YouTube, Facebook Live and TVHamilton.
“I think it’s a rather clever idea — the idea of having a drive-in movie theater for a graduation,” said Fuhrman, a violinist who plans to study music at Wright State University, and who received two scholarships from the Hamilton Community Foundation. “It’s honestly one of the best ideas I’ve heard so far, for how we can deal with it.”
“I think they’ve done the best they can in this situation, and I don’t know if they could have done any better,” he said.
Principal John Wilhelm, who announced plans to air graduation ceremonies for the students May 20 and 21 at the drive-in, said he hasn’t heard of any other school doing such a thing. During the ceremony, each of the approximately 550 graduates’ names will be called. There will be speeches by the valedictorian, salutatorian and class president that were recorded Monday evening.
“All things considered, we tried to provide something that was unique and at the same time honors our graduates,” Wilhelm said.
Other area schools have found other ways to honor their graduates. Among them:
• Kings High School's graduation will be shown on the local channel "The CW" on May 31, thanks to a partnership with Local 12 WKRC-TV. MORE DETAILS: Warren County school's graduation to include live TV broadcast
• Badin High School will use the school gym and other rooms, but will limit who may enter, sticking to state health guidelines. READ MORE: More graduation changes — Private schools in Butler, Warren counties announce plans
• Fenwick will hold an event in its parking lot with spaces assigned to students and families, who can watch the live-streamed ceremony before driving up to receive diplomas.
• Ross High School will hold individual ceremonies for each family. MORE DETAILS: Some Butler County schools to hold individual graduations for hundreds
• Mason High School's 885 graduates will have diplomas hand-delivered to their homes. READ MORE: Mason, Madison high schools to host 1st-of-their-kind graduations
As Fuhrman left the school building, still wearing a face mask, he said, “Today for me is a rather solemn occasion because today would have been the day I should have said goodbye to all my friends, say goodbye to all my teachers, all the wonderful people who have influenced my life over these past four years, or even 12 years if you want to go back that far.”
“It’s been rather unusual, the last couple of months,” Fuhrman said. “There’s been a lot of emotions over all this. There’s been grief, there’s been sadness.”
Wilhelm said he reminisced about relationships built with various members of the Class of 2020.
“We wish we had a chance to honor them individually and in person, but unfortunately, we’re not able to do that this year. The most memorable thing about this particular class?
“They really like each other,” Wilhelm said. “They really get along with each other, and that’s not always the case. This senior class is close, they genuinely like each other and pull for each other.”
About the Author