This year graduation ceremonies across the state looked a lot different, with schools like Centenary University going virtual for the first time.

“The theme I have selected for you as class of 2020 is safety before tradition,” said Centenary University President Dr. Bruce Murphy.

School valedictorian Marissa Conroy was initially upset when she found out graduation would be virtually.

“I was very distraught. I honestly cried,” she said.

But, Conroy told her fellow classmates, “Let this not diminish the magnitude of this moment in your lives.”

That message rings true for another graduate at Georgian Court University.

Fifty-nine-year-old Teresa Burns went back to school because she wanted to take control of her life and become independent after getting out of an abusive relationship.

It took Burns 6 years to get her bachelors degree working full time as a single mother of two. She says having an in-person graduation means the world to her. It’s why she created a petition on change.org — one of more than 500 from across the country — pushing universities to allow graduates to walk across the stage at some point down the line.

Georgian Court University heard the calls and plans to hold an in-person graduation for the class of 2020 in the fall.

“More than 40% of our students are first in their families to graduate from college so it means a lot,” said Georgian Court University Executive Director of Marketing and Communications Gail Towns.

Other New Jersey universities, including Rutgers, Princeton, and Centenary University, are also working on plans for future in-person celebrations in addition to their virtual commencements.

But for some schools, like Bergen Community College, gathering together, even in the future, just isn’t an option. The school says they are doing everything possible to personalize the virtual commencement and are looking at ways to get students caps and gowns.

In the meantime, students like Karissa Rosen are getting creative.

“I actually used my sister’s eighth grade graduation cap and gown to take photos,” said the Bergen Community College graduate.

“Amidst this pandemic and these economic struggles it will not be an easy transition for us. But we are the class of 2020,” Conroy, Centenary University’s valedictorian, said.

While for many it may not be the graduation of their dreams, it’s a unique moment the class of 2020 will never forget.