The COVID-19 pandemic completely disrupted the end of the 2019-20 school year in Richland School District (RSD) and across the world. Health restrictions meant that for the first time since the district's formation in the 1940s that there could not be in-person graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020. Instead, the district's high schools would develop their own virtual commencement events.
To support those efforts, a new Graduation landing page was designed and launched to provide one-stop access for the community to access and watch those virtual commencement events. The new online space also provided an opportunity to further celebrate a senior class that was forced to have a unique graduation experience.
Senior Stories was developed as a series of video interviews with graduating seniors conducted remotely and interspersed with submitted images. The students could discuss their academic careers and accomplishments and their plans for their futures. In addition to being shared on the new Graduation landing page, they were shared through RSD's Facebook Page.
Feedback on the profiles was so well-received that RSD has continued to create and share profiles on graduating students from each of it's high schools ever since, albeit as written profiles accompanied by the student's portrait.