Cindy Cantrell
When David Nguyen arrived to celebrate his commencement from UMass Lowell on May 13, the graduation ritual looked a little different.
The 24-year-old Everett resident waited briefly in line before scanning a QR code, which prompted his name to be announced. He then picked up a diploma cover, strode across the stage, and posed for a photo, socially distanced from Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney and Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences Dean Shortie McKinney.
Yet the fact that Nguyen concluded his college career during the most unusual of times is fitting. After all, he arrived at this point on a road significantly less traveled.