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It's refreshing to see college commencements actually taking place in person this spring, even with conditions meant to ensure the health and safety of those in attendance.
For instance, Pennsylvania College of Technology held 12 ceremonies this past weekend. We were amused by the headline aptly describing it as a "graduation marathon."
Indeed.
Completing requirements for a college degree during a pandemic had to have felt like a marathon.
Holding not the three ceremonies over two days that were the pre-pandemic norm for Penn College but 12 separate events had to have felt like a marathon.
Sanitizing hands between each student who stepped up to the stage to accept their diploma, through 12 events, had to have felt like a marathon -- but worth it.
"The opportunity to honor you in person means more to me than you will ever know," Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour, college president, said during the first of the 12 events.
Across town, Lycoming College also was honoring its graduates over the weekend and recalling how the college experience was impacted by the pandemic.
Rather than stop the pursuit of degrees altogether, the pandemic became an educational experience that helped students develop "an enhanced understanding of what it means to be socially responsible," Dr. Kent C. Trachte, Lycoming president, said.
"Thinking about the potential consequences of your actions and accepting the idea that there are times when we must sacrifice our personal desires for the greater good," he added.
Finishing a college education is tough enough by itself. Succeeding in this endeavor under the circumstances since March 2020 represents valuable, real-world experience worthy of inclusion on resumes.
The graduates have a right to be proud of their accomplishments and we should celebrate all of them.
That includes those who did not get to wear the cap and gown a year ago. To that end, Lycoming will hold another ceremony this Saturday to honor graduates of the Class of 2020.
Another marathon? Perhaps.
But, then, isn't all of life a marathon?