LAKE WORTH — Palm Beach State College hosted a Grad Walk Dec. 19 to celebrate the achievements of its 2020 graduates.

The event was held from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Duncan Theatre on the Lake Worth campus. With social distancing and other COVID-19 safety procedures in place, graduates arrived in groups of 20 during a 30-minute prearranged time slots to hear their names called, walk across the stage, be greeted by President Ava L. Parker, J.D., and be photographed. Photo backdrops were set up outdoors for graduates to document the moment with their family and friends. Palmer, PBSC’s Panther mascot, was on hand to cheer on the graduates.

Grad Walk was in lieu of a full in-person fall commencement ceremony. The college celebrated spring graduates with a dedicated website and an offer to participate in the fall commencement ceremony. To honor that, the college opened Grad Walk to allow all spring, summer and fall graduates an opportunity to celebrate this moment in person.

“We thought it was so important this year for us to do something to celebrate the perseverance and accomplishments of our graduates who have worked so hard, especially during this crisis, to achieve their goals,” Parker said. “This was a socially distanced safe environment for us to commemorate their success.”

For the fall term alone, Palm Beach State is awarding 2,778 degrees and certificates. For more information on Grad Walk, visit www.palmbeachstate.edu/graduation.

Serving 47,000 students annually, Palm Beach State College is the largest institution of higher education in Palm Beach County, providing bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, professional certificates, career training and lifelong learning. Established in 1933 as Florida’s first public community college, Palm Beach State offers more than 130 programs of study at locations in Lake Worth, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves.