Long Beach woman graduates from Cal State Fullerton on her front lawn
A graduation ceremony was held — complete with a stage, live music and an appearance from Dr. Jon Bruschke, Fullerton's head of Human Communication Studies
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton tosses her cap into the air after a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
After missing her high school graduation four years ago, Long Beach resident Kaitlin Buxton was counting the days until she had another chance to walk the stage at her graduation from Cal State University Fullerton this spring. Then the coronavirus pandemic prompted schools across the country to cancel their traditional ceremonies.
Buxton was devastated, having earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in Human Communication Studies. But her mother, Kim Brink, wasn’t going to let her accomplishments go unrecognized.
A graduation ceremony — complete with a stage, live music and an appearance from Dr. Jon Bruschke, Fullerton’s head of Human Communication Studies — was held on Buxton’s front lawn Saturday, May 23. Family, friends and neighbors attended the ceremony while observing social distance practices.
“She was so upset. She skipped her high school graduation to attend Fullerton’s registration day with the thought that she’d get another day to walk in a few years,” Kim said. “So when Dr. Bruschke sent out the email offering to attend small ceremonies I got to planning this in five days.”
At around 4 p.m., “The Graduation March” began to play as Buxton walked down the sidewalk to the stage built in her driveway. The small crowd in attendance held signs and cheered loudly.
“Fullerton was the best four years of my life. I really found myself there,” Buxton said. “Being apart of my sorority, volunteering and representing my chapter were some of the most rewarding experiences.”
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton, second from left, with her mother, Kimberly Brink, left, grandmother RoseAnne Brink, second from right, and sister Elizabeth during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton walks past family and friends as pomp and circumstance is played during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Kimberly Brink speaks about her daughter during a socially distant driveway college graduation of California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton Human Communication Studies dept. head Jon Bruschke wearing a mask speaks about graduate Kaitlin Buxton during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton Human Communication Studies dept. head Jon Bruschke wearing a mask speaks about graduate Kaitlin Buxton during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton speaks during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton tosses her cap into the air after a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Socially distant driveway college graduation of California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton Human Communication Studies dept. head Jon Bruschke with a social distance hand shake with graduate Kaitlin Buxton during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton reacts during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Friends and family hold up signs during a socially distant driveway college graduation of California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
socially distant driveway college graduation of California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
California State Fullerton graduate Kaitlin Buxton during a socially distant driveway graduation ceremony due to the Coronavirus Pandemic at her home with family and friends in Long Beach on Saturday, May 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
“This is so much better than the graduation we would have had,” Dr. Bruschke said. “I’ve never had to research student’s records to prepare personalized speeches. What would have been six seconds on a screen has become an intimate moment for celebration.”
In lieu of a graduation ceremony, Fullerton had asked students to record their own speeches to email in where they’d be compiled into a large video. Bruschke, fearing the 140 graduates in his department would not care for that, offered to perform small graduations at students houses. He and his wife attended more than seven ceremonies on Saturday, from Whittier to Yorba Linda to Irvine.
On top of her sorority work with Gamma Phi Beta, some of Buxton’s other accomplishments included: learning to drive stick in a parking lot, drifting in “Mario Kart,” and reading a children’s book upside down.
Buxton plans to return to school to receive her master’s degree with the end goal of becoming a librarian. She currently works in the children’s section of Long Beach’s newly built Billy Jean King Main Library.
During the ceremony Kim recalled her daughter’s birth, weighing in at a pound and a half and spending the first few months of her life in incubation, an experience Dr. Bruschke and his wife were all to familiar with after their daughter had a similar experience.
“That three months of waiting is no joke. My wife and I binged ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ while we waited,” Bruschke said. “And if there’s one thing we learned from Rupert Giles, it’s that librarians can save the world.”
