LCCC to hold virtual commencement Saturday (VIDEO)

Lorain County Community College will air a virtual commencement Saturday, launching a two-prong celebration of the class of 2020. The commencement will air on LCCC's Facebook page at 9:30 a.m., which was the date and time of the original in-person ceremony. It will feature keynote addresses from Student Senate President Udell Holmes and LCCC President Marcia Ballinger with the theme of perseverance. LCCC sent graduates regalia and has asked them to submit a photo and message to their families, which will be shown during the online ceremony. This is the largest graduating class in the college's history, with 1,918 students earning degrees and certificates, and 260 students earning bachelor's and master's degrees through LCCC's University Partnership. &emsp;&emsp; In honor of the graduates, LCCC also is in the process of creating an outdoor public recognition display. The commencement team designed a tribute of flags forming the shape of a graduation cap on the Elyria campus. There are 47,000 blue and white flags that represent every LCCC graduate in the history of the college. One square, which represents the end of the tassel in the design, has an additional 2,185 yellow flags to represent the 2020 graduates. The cap display will span 351 feet by 279 feet. Boards near the display list the names of the class of 2020 to further recognize their accomplishments. The display will remain up until June 1 and allow the opportunity for graduates to drive by and take a photo. The flags are being put out over the course of several days by volunteers. Jim Gundlach designed the graduation cap flag display. "In more ways than they might realize, this class is history in the making. These times are unprecedented, but so are our graduates' innovative thinking, determination and potential," Ballinger said in a news release. "I've always known LCCC students have grit and perseverance, but in the past two months our new graduates have demonstrated extraordinary determination and commitment to continue their education and achieve their goal of graduation." Holmes, LCCC student senate president and 2020 graduate, is a Lorain resident who will be graduating from the college's University Partnership program with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Cleveland State University. Once he finishes graduate school, Holmes plans to become a clinical psychologist. "It seems that our lives are constantly flooded with news of the coronavirus and it can be a bit overwhelming," Holmes said in a press release. "But I choose to focus on the positive things that helped us earn our degrees — the family members who found creative ways to celebrate our birthdays, the phone calls from friends that kept us sane, and the professors who showed us compassion and understanding when we needed it the most." LCCC plans to continue celebrating the class of 2020 throughout the month of May through a social media campaign that will highlight graduates' stories along with videos. With this year's graduating class, LCCC is 34 percent of the way toward its goal of 10,000 degrees of impact, the core focus of LCCC's strategic plan, Vision 2025. Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.