WKU News

A long overdue Commencement ceremony will be held this weekend for WKU’s Class of 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted an abrupt ending to their college careers and those returning are excited to get some closure, as WKU's Amy Bingham tells us in this week’s View from the Hill.

The pomp and circumstance of Commencement is exactly what Megan Devore is looking forward to this weekend.

“I’m so excited to get to come back to WKU and celebrate with all my friends and family and the professors.”

Devore is one of around 600 2020 graduates returning to the hill.

“When I found out we were having commencement on May 8th, there was no question that I was coming back.”

It’s a ceremony that’s been a long time coming given the way the pandemic initially shut down the university.

“I was very disappointed because as we left for spring break I was so excited to come back and start all the senior festivities, the last meetings of all the organizations I was involved in, the banquets, the Greek week.”

Jacob Karaglanis was in Miami with his fraternity brothers when COVID hit and says he was stunned at the severity of the situation.

 “I was like woah. I just went on spring break, didn’t even say bye to the people I lived with and didn’t say bye really to people I was on spring break with. So it was just a really, it was so hard to really capture that feeling of wow, I didn’t get any closure at all. ”

Even though it’s a year later, he’s excited to drive down from Louisville with his girlfriend to get the type of closure they missed out on last year. “We went through all this together. Both had the feeling of what the heck is happening, why did we lose out on all this, but the world is a crazy place.”

Devore says even though only a fraction of the 3,094 2020 graduates are making the return trip to the hill, she’s excited to celebrate with the ones who are coming.

“I am an only child and actually the only grandchild in my family. I’m also a first generation college student. There was no way that we were gonna let this moment pass without celebrating it and celebrating it in a really big way.”

The Class of 2020 Commencement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.