A limited crowd Friday night for commencement ceremonies. But it sounded like a full house inside of Tiger Arena. With Sen. Raphael Warnock giving the commencement speech, graduates were able to get their degrees in front of families and friends. Something not possible last year. “Navigating through the COVID experience has been very difficult, but today myself, as well as my peers, have proved that we are able to conquer through any challenges, hard defeats, obstacles that get in our way,” said graduate Denerick Simpson.Simpson received his master’s Friday. He was also honored by the white house HBCU initiative. But he’s not the only one with an incredible story.Marcus Knowles was a double major. His homeland, the Bahamas, was affected by hurricane Dorian. Then while he was home, the pandemic happened. He was still able to persevere and receive his degree. “Honestly it wasn’t easy. Thankfully Savannah State is such a closely knit university. The teachers and me had a really good relationship. So, they gave me an option to do it from home,” Knowles said. And we can’t forget about the parents. Due to updated COVID-19 restrictions, graduates were able to have eight guests in attendance. And they wouldn’t have missed this for anything in the world. “It feels wonderful. I can’t even describe it. This is the best Mother’s Day gift I have ever received,” Wendy Hayes said.