Faced with a pandemic and mom's cancer diagnosis, graduate walks across stage for diploma
and last updated 2021-06-02 15:56:11-04
SAN DIEGO, Calif. â For the first time since the pandemic, graduates are walking across a stage to receive their diploma, hearing their names in-person instead of through a screen.
But even before facing a global pandemic, some students weren't sure this day would ever come.
"For lack of a better word: surreal. I just canât believe it," said Cameron McCullough, a biology major at San Diego State University (SDSU).
A few months into his freshman year, his mom was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, metastatic to the bone. Eventually, they couldnât pay the mounting bills for his education.