Seminole County moves graduations to July

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Seminole County Public Schools just pushed its graduation dates back to July.

The district made the announcement on Wednesday, with graduations delayed a month to follow social distancing guidelines. FOX 35 News talked to two students about the change.

 “At the end of the day, I don’t think anyone wants to graduate school and then graduate two months after they finish,” Lake Mary High School graduate Demontae Randall said.

Randall is not happy his graduation date just changed from June 12 to July 17.

“We had a lot of stuff taken away from us, a lot of our senior activities, grad bash, prom,” he said, “so many things taken away from us, and with graduation being in June that was our only hope.”

Randall said he doesn’t understand the change.

“The government is opening things up,” he added. “The restaurants are being opened, beaches, you know, packed, so just the simple fact we can’t graduate.”

FOX 35 News also spoke with Seminole High School graduate Blake Roberson. He will have to miss the graduation in July, because he’ll be out of the area for a once-in-a-lifetime internship in Hawaii.

“I’m leaving for it in about a month,” Roberson said. “So, I’m going to miss graduation, but it’s okay because I get this opportunity to go there, and I’m also going with one of my friends, so it will be pretty cool.”

Still, he plans to make the best of the milestone.

“Stay positive,” Roberson said. “We’re all in this together. It’s not like a one-man army. If it’s happening to all of us, it’s happening to all of us. You can’t control it. It will eventually clear up. So, you just got to stick with it.”

In addition to the in-person graduations, the district will also hold a virtual graduation around July 1.