BEAUMONT, Texas — Graduates at the Lamar Institute of Technology became some of the first in Southeast Texas to get their diplomas in-person Friday morning in Beaumont.
The in-person spring 2021 commencement ceremony was the first the school has held since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring.
Friday's graduating class made history with the highest number of graduates earning the most degrees in the school's history according to a news release from LIT.
Graduates at Lamar University's Provost Umphrey Stadium numbered 565 and earned a total of 605 degrees the release said.
Of those 565 graduates almost a third of them are dual-credit students who are receiving their diploma from LIT before they even get their high school diploma.
Masks were required at the ceremony and because of social distancing graduates did have to walk a little further than normal to pick up their diplomas.
From a Lamar Institute of Technology news release...
Lamar Institute of Technology’s Spring 2021 graduates will experience another ‘first’ on Friday, May 14, 2021 at 10 a.m., as they cross the stage in-person to receive their diplomas during LIT’s Spring 2021 Commencement.
This in-person ceremony is the first the college has hosted since the onset of COVID-19 in February 2020. The ceremony will be held outdoors at Lamar University’s Provost Umphrey Stadium.
In addition to being the first in-person commencement in over a year, this class is special in other ways as well. The Spring 2021 class consists of 565 graduates earning 605 degrees, both the highest in LIT’s history. Of the 565 graduates, 177 or almost one-third are dual credit students earning a college degree weeks before receiving their high school diploma, giving these students a head-start on their careers.
These graduates had to overcome much besides the pandemic and adjusting to online learning. They have ‘weathered’ an abundance of weather-related disasters that included Southeast Texas’ first-ever multi-day freeze complete with power outages in February, and last year, a hurricane and two tropical storms.
Due to social distancing guidelines, graduates will walk a greater distance than normal, including up and down ramps, so they are advised to wear comfortable flat shoes. Masks are required. Students should arrive to the stadium between 8:30 and 9 a.m. and continue to check their LIT internal email and social media for any updates.