When Lydia Petralia accepted her diploma Thursday morning, she was greeted by the expected cheers from proud family members.

“We are Italian, so it is pretty normal,” Petralia joked. “It’s nice; it makes me happy and a little embarrassed, but it’s all right.”

What You Need To Know


  • Spread over two socially distant ceremonies Thursday and Friday, 359 seniors are graduating from Niskayuna High School this week

  • All wearing masks, students were dropped off one-by-one just left of the stage where they were handed their diplomas

  • Family members were asked to stand within three marked-off socially distant areas near the stage to watch and take pictures of their graduating seniors

What may have looked unfamiliar is that the Niskayuna High School senior’s family had to clap and snap pictures from one of three marked-off, socially distant areas near the stage.

“They worked so hard for four years, and I am so glad they were able to come up with a solution so they got to walk across the stage and get their diploma that way. It is important,” said Julie Petralia, Lydia’s mother.

With an ongoing cavalcade of vehicles dropping off each of the 359 seniors one by one, Thursday’s ceremony was yet another reminder that education in the age of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t following the traditional playbook.

“It was pretty difficult,” Petralia said about being away from her friends and classmates. “I mean, I think everybody had a little bit of insanity at some point.”

“Having to be online rather than in person, that was a big challenge for me particularly,” graduating senior Brennan Peper said.

Just like Petralia, Piper will attend Siena College in the fall.

“I’m actually really excited,” Piper said. “I get to move out and finally do my own thing for a little bit, but stay pretty close to home, which is nice.”

“I think with online education, it was a crash course on what to expect for college, so it’s not bad,” said Amy Piper, Brennan’s mother. “I think the schools did all they could to make it manageable with zero preparation time.”

For Piper, Petralia, and each of their classmates, graduation marks the final stage of a senior year that was unlike anything they ever could have predicted.

“I thought they did a pretty good job, especially considering the circumstances,” Piper said. “I wasn’t expecting anything this nice, honestly.”

“We originally weren’t really going to do anything, and all I really cared about was walking across the stage, and I got to do that, so I am happy about it,” Petralia said.

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