Graduation is a one-time thing for some people, and it can be heart-breaking when something serious happens that jeopardises a person’s attendance to theirs. In America one girl very nearly missed hers.

Cynthia Pettway, 17, a senior at LeFlore High School, Alabama, found herself too sick to attend her graduation as she was laid up in hospital with a life-threatening illness. However, through a partnership between MCPSS and USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital, Cynthia found a new way to attend graduation.

Dressing a robot in a cap and gown, attaching an iPad to its head and wheels to its feet, Cynthia was able to video-link herself to the device. This enabled her to cross the stage and collect her diploma, with cheers from her classmates in the background.

You can see Cynthia cross the stage below:

Thanks to this robot, Cynthia was able to celebrate all of her hard work. At Sheffield Hallam University, we also want you to be able to celebrate, and while we can’t quite provide a robot, we want to assist as much as possible. If you have any special requirements that you need taking into consideration for your graduation ceremony, make sure that when you book your tickets you put in the ‘special requirements’ section anything that you or any guests may require.

If for any reason you forget or aren’t able to do this during the booking process don’t worry you can always do this afterwards via the ‘special requirements’ link which will appear on the ‘My Certificate and Graduation’ page.

Remember! If for some reason you cannot attend your graduation, we allow you to defer your graduation by one year no questions asked. If you want to defer your attendance contact us so that we can update your records accordingly.

As always – any questions please take a look at our website or if you need to speak to someone contact the Graduation Office on graduation@shu.ac.uk.

The Graduation Team