COLCHESTER, VT — Aimee Mae Sala of Kingfield graduated May 10 from Saint Michael’s College with a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude in political science.

In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many among the 501 new graduates from the Class of 2020 joined in remotely from their homes in an hour-long prerecorded Virtual Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 10– energized by ebullient and uplifting live-chat and joined by several thousand graduates, families, faculty and staff online.

The YouTube event that morning featured words of admiration, support and celebration from President Lorraine Sterritt, Vice President for Academic Affairs Jeffrey Trumbower, Dean of Faculty Tara Natarajan, student speakers, alumni and faculty. Nearly 3,000 people signed in to view the event at some point, with nearly 1,500 at one time at peak.