Cheers could be heard from Saranac Lake to Onchiota on Tuesday as the staff of Saranac Lake High School organized a caravan to stop at the graduates’ homes and present them with lawn signs in celebration of their 2020 graduation.

A different kind of parade was done Sunday in the town of Keene. There, it was the high school seniors in the car parade, waving to happy people who held up signs to honor them.

These graduation memories will go down in history amid the pandemic and missing the traditional celebrations.

Different schools, parents and communities have different plans to help acknowledge graduates throughout the country. One town in Ohio celebrated by asking everyone to turn on lights for the 2020 graduates on the 20th of the month at the 20th hour: in homes, schools and scoreboards.

Here at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, we are working on a project called “Every Graduate Has a Story,” in which we publish a short article on each local high school and college graduate, including their reflections on the past, present and future. We think it will be unique and perhaps even comforting for them, knowing they are all going through the same collective experience during this unusual time. We also hope it will be uplifting to read about their experiences, their viewpoints and their plans for their future. We are eager to read them ourselves.

We will start publishing these stories, with graduates’ photos, in Saturday’s Enterprise, and then run more as they come in and as we have room.

We were not able to pull together a special section for college graduates on short notice, but the stories and photos they submit will still run in the regular paper. High schoolers, however, will also have their stories and photos published in a special supplement that will appear in the Lake Placid News on June 19 and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise on June 20. Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, Lake Placid, AuSable Valley, Keene, Long Lake and Northwood schools are participating.

We believe this exciting project will show this graduating class as the one that celebrated their accomplishments in the face of adversity and came out tougher for it. They can look back at this keepsake publication with pride. They are worth paying special attention to.

We are lucky to have a spirited and enthusiastic community that supports our graduates in celebrating their accomplishments and looking forward to their next endeavor. As small community newspapers, we ask for your support in this effort. We are inviting family members, businesses, civic organizations and other caring citizens to place ads cheering the Class of 2020 on to a bright future. If you are interested, please contact Publisher Catherine Moore by May 25 at cmoore@adirondackdailyenterprise.com or 518-891-2600.