Big Bend Community College celebrates with drive-thru ceremony
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 9 months AGO
A Big Bend Community College graduate accepts his diploma from BBCC President Sara Thompson Tweedy (right).
Courtesy photo
Big Bend Community College President Sara Thompson Tweedy (right) hands out diplomas to two proud BBCC graduates during drive-thru commencement ceremonies June 18.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | June 25, 2021 1:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — After a year when classes were online, Big Bend Community College graduates received their diplomas in person June 18.
Commencement was a drive-thru affair on the BBCC campus (7662 Chanute St. NE), due to restrictions in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Students still wore their caps and gowns, and many of them decorated their caps, just like they would for graduation in a non-pandemic year.
Professors and BBCC staff lined the parade route on campus as graduates drove through. Some graduates decorated their car, and family members carried signs congratulating them. Family and friends had a spot to gather and cheer on their graduates.
The BBCC class of 2021 included 441 graduates, with about 150 picking up their diplomas at the drive-thru.
BBCC President Sara Thompson Tweedy handed out diplomas. In a prerecorded speech, Thompson Tweedy said BBCC faculty and staff find no greater satisfaction in their work than recognizing students at graduation.
The graduates not only fulfilled their own hopes for college, but those of family and friends that supported them, she said.
“You make us proud. And we are all the more proud because you accomplished this success in the face of great adversity,” she said.
Graduates couldn’t get together in person for commencement, she said, but they should celebrate their accomplishments, regardless.
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