Those of us in our advanced years remember snippets of our high school graduations.
While many of the details of the pomp and circumstance have faded, the memories of how we felt — and the people we celebrated with — haven’t.
A group of graduating high school seniors working at the JayC Food Store at Westhill Shopping Center in Columbus received a special ceremony they will never forget this past Thursday.
Renée Mitchell, one of the managers and the store’s customer service lead at the JayC, recently hatched an extra-ordinary plan for her essential high school workers at the store.
Mitchell had seven of her local students, who hailed from Columbus East, North, and Brown County, dress in their caps and gowns and had them promenade the store — from aisle one to 15.
Names were called over the intercom and near 100 shoppers stopped their carts to applaud the graduates as they passed everything from cold cuts to cleaning products.
The ceremony was short, sweet, and unforgettable for the grads and their parents that were also in attendance – a moment that those families had looked forward to for years.
Some eyes were rolled by the teens, but down the road, when they re-watch the video of them parading around the grocery store, it will serve as a reminder of the power of being selfless and kind to others. The graduates will tell their kids, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren about it.
The efforts by Mitchell and her staff at JayC are commendable, as they made an extra effort to try and give the grads an experience taken away from them by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event serves as a reminder that the smallest gestures can make the biggest difference.
