TULSA, Okla. — After years of hard work, it’s finally graduation day for the OU-Tulsa class of 2020. But, it’s not the ceremony they expected. Instead of being in person, it’s all online.
“I can easily complain that I’d like to be in person with my friends and everything, but my wife and my daughter are safe and that’s all I need," Kevin Dale said.
Dale is graduating with his doctorate of physical therapy. He said he skipped his undergraduate ceremony and was looking forward to this one, but he and his family are still celebrating from home.
“Everything to go out to do is kind of closed and still incrementally opening up. So, we’re gonna order pizza and watch 'The Office'," he said. "That’s the perfect night to us.”
The university wanted to make it a fun celebration. There were speeches from local leaders like Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum. Graduates could also submit a slide telling others about themselves.
OU-Tulsa President Dr. John Schumann said this is a historic day. He hopes the more than 350 OU-Tulsa graduates will have fond memories of it.
“This will be just one more challenge and one more thing they’ll be able to tell their families, their kids about, maybe their grandkids about," he said. "And hopefully, we’ll come back to better times and be able to do things together in public.”
While Friday wasn’t the graduation they planned, Dr. Schumann is optimistic about the future. OU-Tulsa is hoping to have an in-person ceremony in august.
“It’s just a shame that our lives have been upended, but it seems like, I’m starting to see some signs of optimism and I hope we’re getting through this," Dr. Schumann said.
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