Izaak Mendoza had planned to welcome his extended family from Wyoming to Minnesota this week to celebrate his University of Minnesota graduation. He was going to show them around campus and was looking forward to his mom and grandma preparing his favorite dishes for the party.
Instead, with travel out of the question and in-person ceremonies canceled, the festivities were limited to his living room, with his wife, Becky, and two cats the only attendees.
The University of Minnesota's commencement ceremony Saturday was virtual for Mendoza and the more than 17,000 other undergraduates, graduate, and professional students who earned a 2020 degree from one of the school's five campuses this spring.
"It's still a really big, momentous thing, something to be proud of, but it is also kind of a sad day. We were looking forward to having my family here," said Mendoza, who tuned in from his couch, pulling up the virtual occasion on his television screen. "For me, events are sentimental," he said.
The ceremony was prerecorded, but the link didn't go live until 11 a.m. Mendoza and his wife had hung 2020 streamers from the fireplace mantel in their Maple Grove home, and Mendoza, set to graduate with an MBA from the Carlson School of Management and a master's degree in public policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, was prepared in his gown, honor cords and stole.
Still, they weren't quite ready. First, they had to sort out the television's speakers, connect with his parents and brothers through Facebook Messenger on a laptop propped on the coffee table, and coach his grandparents in finding the right link to click.
Then, with the virtual commencement up on everyone's screen, Mendoza's mom, Cynthia, said she wanted to search for the slide showing his photo first, and hear his name read. So they upended the ceremony's order a bit.
"Oh! There's my baby," she said proudly, as his photo filled the screen.