Students who graduated from Savannah State University in May were not able to experience a normal graduation ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Saturday was a different story.
Savannah State held its 196th commencement ceremony in-person for the spring class of 2020.
Jameese Scott is one of 415 students in her graduating class.
150 students were actually present to walk across the stage today, which is a moment Jameese says she values deeply.
“It is a huge, huge, huge moment for me to be able to walk, be able to give gratitude and all glory to God, it’s a huge accomplishment for me,” Scott said.
It’s an accomplishment she says was not only for herself.
Jameese was roommates with Karissa Tatum, the Savannah State volleyball player who died while evacuating from hurricane Dorian in 2019.
“She couldn’t finish the season. She couldn’t finish the school year, but I did it for my friend. I did it for my roommate, and I’m just more than blessed and more than honored to walk with her,” she said.
Clifford Brown is another student graduating today and says finishing his senior year during a pandemic was a big achievement.
“It was probably the most stressful thing, but I think that’s my greatest accomplishment because I adapted to the environment that changed so quickly. We went from being here on campus, being around people, to not even seeing people at all doing online remote-learning,” Brown said.
He also says he and other students are thankful to savannah state for still putting on this ceremony.
“Coming out and telling us ‘We still got you all,’ even though it’s going to be pushed back a little bit, that meant a lot to me,” he said.
And as far as advice to students following them, students say never give up hope.
“Keep pushing, get your education, try to be the best individual...not try, be the best individual you can be,” Graduate Jasmine Mitchell said.