A promise made a year ago by President Fram Virjee was fulfilled Saturday as the Class of 2020 strode across the stage during the first of four days of Commencement 2021.
“I can’t wait until the incredible experience you and I are going to have at your in-person commencement,” Virjee said during his virtual commencement speech last year.
The university’s president made good on his promise. On Saturday, he and his wife, Julie, greeted graduates and took photos while congratulating them on their accomplishments and resiliency.
Members of the class reflected on what it meant to walk across the commencement stage in front of family, friends and a worldwide viewing audience on YouTube.
“This is a dream I’ve had for a long time,” said 2020 alumna Ginny Oshiro, a graduate of Project Rebound and a criminal justice major. “Now I have new dreams, bigger dreams — and this has been the springboard to my success.”
Oshiro is now working toward earning a doctorate and studying prisoner-led rehabilitation programs.
