Jonathan Linke was kind enough to take a picture with his drone to give a bird’s-eye view of the graduation ceremony held at the DakPak facility parking lot in Woonsocket on Sunday, May 17.

Woonsocket High School graduation was scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 16, but due to rainy weather all day, it was rescheduled to Sunday, May 17. It took place at the DakPak (formerly VanDykes) parking lot on the east edge of Woonsocket. It was conducted with the drive-in theater concept. Everyone stayed in their cars, except the graduates. The eighth-grade graduates sat in a semi-circle spread apart in front of the stage, and the high school graduates sat spread apart on flat bed trailers sitting on the south end of the parking lot. School Board President Jason White and Superintendent Dr. Rod Weber both sat on stage to hand out the diplomas. 

The ceremony was quite similar to what is normally conducted inside the Woonsocket Gym. The valedictorian, Mariah Jost, and the salutatorian, Brooklyn Swenson, both spoke with Swenson going first. After everyone was awarded their diploma, the seniors handed out flowers to their loved ones who helped them get to this point in their lives. The only thing missing was the annual slide show, but that was created and posted on Facebook for everyone to see, including people from long distances.

Once the ceremony was over, members of the Town and Country Fire District brought two trucks to lead the seniors and their families out of the parking lot and throughout the town for one last “hurrah” before everything officially ended.

See additional photos in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!