Lions Come Roaring Back

Lansing Commencement is a Success for 2020 Grads

by Peggy Bair

With rain clouds threatening the event, luck for the Lions held, and their 2020 commencement stayed cloudy but – dry.

There were 201 Lansing seniors who got to enjoy their ceremonious walk, receiving their diplomas in front of family and friends on Saturday, June 27 on the football field of Lansing High School in Lansing, KS.

Masks were mostly worn by both students, faculty and parents who attended – along with social distance spacing. However, parents were given the option – with masks required on one side of the stadium – and not required on the opposite side of the stadium. Student seating was social distanced on the field and many, if not most students were wearing masks.

The ceremony was to be followed up by a party starting at 6 p.m. tonight where about 125 were expected in a lock in alcohol-free event, that included “prom attire, bathing suit, towel, comfy clothes and a healthy appetite” with hashtags: #2020 #lionpride #yeahwedidit #CORONADIDNTWIN #grads.

For those who could not go who would like to view the entire ceremony, a youtube video was created, as follows:

One of the speakers, Samantha Moburg, summed up the unique experience of the 2020 graduating class:

We grew up watching students before us have the best year of their lives – yearning to one day be in their same position. But we were cut short. We will never get to experience those trademarks of senior year. However, we are unprecendented. We have something that no class before us has ever experienced and no class after us will truly understand. We were born in the year of an historic tragedy. And here we are again, experiencing yet another world-changing event. However, experiencing these things does not make us weak or vulnerable. In fact, it makes us the strongest, most resilient class there has ever been. Although we were heartbroken, we welcomed the adversity that was thrown at us and continued to become the best version of ourselves. We became the class of perseverance.

Peggy Bair is a Midwest journalist and photographer covering human interest stories throughout Middle America. I am an alum of the English Department of the University of Missouri – Kansas City. I am a member of the American Society of Media Photographers, the National Press Photographers Association and Professional Photographers of America. I have worked on the staff of six different newspapers throughout my career and specialize in people stories.Your support of local journalism helps keep bringing these stories to uplift your spirits. Although my business has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, I have not accepted any payment, grants, government assistance or unemployment for my journalism during this pandemic. If you would like to donate to the support honest storytelling, you can contribute to my PayPal by posting any amount to my PayPal donation link.