The challenges along the way, however, differ greatly from student to student.
To celebrate the achievement of students representing various races, ethnicities and genders, more schools and communities are holding multicultural graduation celebrations in addition to traditional commencement ceremonies.
Rock Valley College hosted its long-standing Sankofa celebration for its Black graduates this year, and for the first time held a special graduation ceremony for members of the college s Latinx community.
A Rockford education advocate will host his third annual All Black Graduation on June 19 at the Sinnissippi Music Shell.
And for its 12th in row year, Northern Illinois University joined more than 200 colleges and universities across the country this spring by hosting its Lavender Graduation Celebration, a special ceremony for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual or intersex.
ROCKFORD After a yearlong hiatus due to the pandemic, a public art festival will return this summer with more murals in more cities.
Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau on Friday announced this year s CRE8IV: Transformational ART mural initiative in which paintings will be added to some of the city s barren walls. This year s festival will add 12 murals across the region, with paintings in Rockford and three new cities: Loves Park, Pecatonica and Rockton.
The announcement was made at La Chiquita supermarket, 1108 S. Main St., which will serve as a home to one of the murals set to be created by Jenny Roesel Ustick of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Atalie Gagnet of Dayton, Ohio.