By Jill Harlow — Loveland, Colorado … It was a unique ceremony, with Campion Academy celebrating the accomplishments of the 39 members of its senior class with a drive-in graduation on Sunday, May 24. As expected, the ceremony included speeches, special music, awards, photos, diplomas, and all the traditional aspects of a typical graduation despite the fact that the attendees were mostly regulated to their vehicles. And there was a drone flying above the parked cars, adding a bit of buzzing noise and … wonder.

“Campion came through,” affirmed graduate Naomi Boonstra. “They gave us the best graduation they could under the circumstances, and it was amazing. Certainly, a day we won’t forget.”

The class sponsors and officers planned out many details to make the event memorable. Entering on the west side of campus, the graduates were greeted by a large banner and staff members who handed them their caps, gowns, sashes and chords. As the vehicles formed a line around campus, families could pose together for a picture in front of their cars. Then the vehicles were directed into Campion’s RV park for the outdoor ceremony, parking the smaller cars in front so everyone could see the stage. The graduates were asked to stand in front of their cars as the traditional Pomp and Circumstance was played and they posed for an aerial group photo.

Social distancing was maintained as class members and staff went to the stage for speeches, songs, and to receive their diplomas. During his address, class president Nolan Eickmann said, “I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know how this was going to look, but standing up here, this looks pretty awesome.” Nolan’s mother and Campion’s interim chaplain Wendy Eickmann was the keynote speaker.

Campion Academy’s class of 2020 is a high-achieving class. Between them, they were awarded a total of $2,785,750 in scholarship money from Seventh-day Adventist universities across the nation. With 39 graduates, that is an average of more than $70,000 per student. Nineteen of the students received College-preparatory or Advanced College-preparatory diplomas. Twenty-two students graduated with honors with a 3.5 GPA or above, and nineteen were inducted members of the National Honor Society.

The weather forecast had called for a high chance of rain, but thankfully it held off until the very end of the ceremony as students were receiving their diplomas. When asked for a comment about the event, one official visitor remarked that for him, a special bonus was the sky. “The sky delivered,” he said.

Confetti cannons were shot off at the end of the celebration, adding more decor to the wet cars. As the vehicles exited, the attendees were handed cupcakes and juice boxes through their car windows, so even the usual refreshments were included.

“The drive-in graduation was extremely organized and very well thought out by the staff,” commented graduate Megan Michalenko. “I can tell how much the staff members cared with the planning and execution of the graduation. Everyone had smiles on their faces.”

Another graduate, Bela Cinco, explained, “Honestly, it was so much better than I had pictured. In some ways it was better than a regular graduation; it was unique and fun. It’s a graduation we’ll never forget, and one that will go down in history.”

—Jill Harlow; photos by Darcy Force, Jill Harlow, and Rajmund Dabrowski