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Christ College nursing students got a drive-in graduation Saturday morning

Posted at 5:13 PM, May 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-03 14:35:46-04

CINCINNATI — Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences gave its spring graduates a drive-in ceremony Saturday morning, trading chairs for cars decked out in streamers and applause for a chorus of honks. It was better than anything graduate Chelsea Pallo could have expected.

“We thought our graduation would be completely canceled,” she said.

Instead, it was modified. Students got out of their cars one at a time to receive their diplomas, and their families stayed safely inside.

Meghan Hollowell, the college’s dean of student success, said she didn’t want to send Pallo and her classmates out into the world without a celebration.

“We knew we really needed to celebrate them,” she said. “Students in health care-focused education work harder than any other students I know.” 

If that was true in school, it might be even more so as they enter the professional world in the midst of a global pandemic. Some missed the ceremony because they were already working, Hollowell said.

“It’s really daunting,” Pallo said. “But that’s why a lot of us came into the health care field — because we wanted to help.”