Congratulations, Class of 2020!

Marathon commencement celebrations shower the Class of 2020 with love—and air hugs— in 77 separate ceremonies.

In a year of radical change, Mayfield creatively reimagined our cherished rites of passage for graduating seniors, honoring old traditions, while embracing new ways of celebrating milestone moments.

With typical commencement celebrations out of the question for Class of 2020, Mayfield orchestrated individual mini-ceremonies for each of our 77 seniors over the course of five days. The girls wore their white gowns and gloves, carried their red roses and received their Holy Child medallions and diplomas from their families. They even did their own solo versions of the iconic rose petal toss!

Students and their families then sat down together on Sunday, June 7 for a virtual “watch party” of their official commencement video, a 90-minute compilation of each student’s diploma presentation and traditional commencement speeches, including an address by Jessica Mennis Viets ’08 and a blessing from Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J.

But the beauty of the proceedings didn’t ignore the history being made around this graduating class. Students and their parents arrived on campus wearing face masks as COVID-19 cases continued to increase in Southern California. Some families had to reschedule their celebration sessions as Los Angeles County imposed curfews in the wake of citywide social justice protests. But this class wasn’t disheartened by their senior-year curve balls— they were strengthened and energized.

“Each member of this class has a passion and drive because of Mayfield,” Senior Class President Paloma Torres ’20 said in her commencement speech. “We were taught ‘Actions Not Words,’ thus we are a class that is globally minded, aware of our responsibility to use the voice and the privilege that we have been blessed with. And with that, we create a better world.”

Head of School Kate Morin said she knew this group of girls would make their mark on Mayfield when she first met them as ninth graders: “In my many long years as an educator, spending most of my waking hours thinking about and delighting in teenagers, I have never been as touched and inspired more than I have been by this group of girls.”

The Class of 2020 shows us what the future could look like. It is filled with kindness, openness, understanding, inclusion and respect. It is filled with love.

— KATE MORIN, HEAD OF SCHOOL