T.C. Williams Class Of 2020 Graduates Amid Pandemic

ALEXANDRIA, VA — After the coronavirus crisis changed how seniors ended their high school career, 865 students graduated from T.C. Williams High School in a virtual ceremony Saturday.

In place of the usual ceremony at George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena was a pre-recorded virtual ceremony of speeches and graduation elements. World champion sprinter and future Olympian Noah Lyles gave the keynote speech, and Sen. Mark Warner, an Alexandria resident, offered well wishes. There was also a video compilation of seniors discussing what they love, what they fear, and what they hope for.

Commencement speeches touched upon the impacts of the pandemic and push for racial justice after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. Class President Amiya Chisolm pointed to the removal of the Appomattox statue honoring Confederate soldiers in Alexandria as how young voices are contributing to addressing racial injustice:

These remarkable events are not only memorable, but they are intentional. They are showing us that we are capable of changing the normality and being the generation to break the chain against unacceptable injustices. Being in a swimming pool of different ethnicities, different cultures and many different backgrounds has given us the opportunity that many high schools cannot say they have had. This is adaptation and acceptance. T.C. gave us a united atmosphere where we can individually find smaller communities that tended to our personal similarities while still giving us the chance to teach, learn and understand one another's differences

While the term "new normal" is often used when discussing life during the pandemic, Superintendent Gregory Hutchings Jr. connected it to the unrest over Floyd's death and the history of systemic racism. In his address, Hutchings asked the class of 2020 to advocate for anti-racism and "reinvent a new normal":

Class of 2020, each and every single one of you can ensure that we do not continue to repeat history time and time again and to perpetuate the racial tension that continues to exist not only in our country but right here in the City of Alexandria. You know, we're asking you class of 2020 to not look back. Yes, we must remember our history so that we don't repeat it. But we want you to look forward. We want you to look on this summer not as a time where you missed out on your senior experience although we know you did. Instead, look forward and create this as a pivotal moment when we saw we will never go back to the way things were.

Principal Peter Balas said in his address the class of 2020 has developed resiliency during the pandemic and must continue to be resilient to address systemic racism:

When I think about the class of 2020, what I remember is not the emotional senior year that we have had or...school closures. What I remember is how your generation has the power to change the world as we know it. I see this in all of you every day at T.C. Your advocacy, your sense of justice, and your unwillingness to accept the wrongs in society have shaped who you are and I hope will continue to shape who you become.

Lyles was chosen as the keynote speaker four years after he graduated from T.C. Williams. As a professional athlete, he has broken records and personal best times as a sprinter and was set to compete in the 2020 Olympics before it was postponed. Lyles told graduates he overcame adversities such as asthma and bullying, and called on them to overcome their own adversities:

Some might say that accomplishments are everything, that accomplishments are what make you. But I want to challenge that thought. I’m here to say it's more the journey and how you got to those moments that are what really make you. Well, what are those things that get you there? And I’d say it's adversity. Just like now in 2020, I bet you didn't see yourself graduating like this...but I also heard that the class of 2020 was different from the others. I heard that the class of 2020 was courageous. I heard that they were kind, and I heard they were relentless to do what was righteous.

The commencement addresses were followed by a reading of graduates' names. Each graduate's senior photo and a picture in cap and gown were displayed.

At the time of graduation, 569 graduates said they will attend a college or university in the fall. Another 22 students will join the military, and 39 have accepted jobs.

On the night of the ceremony, the community showed support for graduates with illuminated displays of red, white and blue. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial was illuminated in school colors, and residents lit up their own homes.

Congrats class of 2020! See the full graduation video below.