They might not have been on the Lawn Saturday, but UVA’s newest graduates – and faculty, families and friends – found ways to celebrate on what was to be their graduation day.
Saturday’s virtual celebration included remarks from President Jim Ryan, appearances from Dave Matthews and Yo-Yo Ma and the conferral of degrees, marking the official end of this very unusual academic year.
The University of Virginia celebrated the Class of 2020 virtually on May 16 – during the class’s originally scheduled graduation weekend – while planning in-person Final Exercises for a later date.
Los Angeles native Matt Sonnenblick hadn’t thought about coming to UVA until the college counselor at his high school shared some of the things she knew not only about the University, but the city of Charlottesville.