PENDLETON — Blue Mountain Community College commencement exercises normally include caps and gowns, speakers and proud parents watching from the seats of the Pendleton Convention Center. Though normal graduation isn’t possible this year because of COVID-19, organizers devised a ceremony that keeps social distancing in mind.

Welcome to Blue Mountain Community College graduation reimagined.

Instead of filing into the convention center, graduates will climb into their personal vehicles and participate in a “Parade of Graduates” through the campus at 7 p.m., June 11. The mechanics of the graduation are surprisingly similar to traditional commencement, though much more space is necessary.

Grads, one to a car, will gather at the bottom of the hill at the triangle and get in line. President Dennis Bailey-Fougnier will present a message to the grads over KUMA radio from the college welcome hut near Pioneer Hall.

Then it will be time to walk, er, ride. Grads will cruise slowly around campus to “Pomp and Circumstance,” broadcast over KUMA. The grads will circle around the backside of the college and around to the front, easing to a stop by Bailey-Fougnier. Someone will recite graduates’ names over the radio as each receives congratulations from Bailey-Fougnier and BMCC Board of Education Chair Heidi Van Kirk. Each graduate will receive a diploma cover and gift bag. Marty Huie, who has photographed BMCC commencement exercises for 30 years, will be on hand to get photos of the graduates in their cars.

Immediate family members have the option of riding with their graduates. Other family and friends may park in designated parking lots in well-spaced slots. Faculty and staff will also have designated parking. Pendleton Police Department officers will provide traffic control and social distancing monitors from BMCC will ensure that spectators stay properly spaced.

“Commencement is our favorite day of the year at the college, so we’re excited to still be able to honor our graduates with this creative alternative to our traditional event,” Bailey-Fougnier said. “Commencement signifies an outstanding achievement for these students, and BMCC wanted to make sure there was an opportunity to celebrate their efforts, despite the restrictions in place with COVID-19.”

Casey White-Zollman, the college’s vice-president of college relations and advancement, said she’s excited about BMCC’s solution to the challenge of graduation during a pandemic.

“The parade of graduates idea originally stemmed from the (Associated Student Government),” White-Zollman said. “The Commencement Reimagined Committee started fleshing it out.”

In an attempt to discover whether graduates would embrace the idea, the committee surveyed them, floating four different options: postponement, nothing, a virtual ceremony or the parade. The parade got the nod. So far, 59 of 328 graduating seniors have signed up to participate.

Renting caps and gowns is optional, White-Zollman said, though each will receive a tassel.

The road to campus will close at 6:45 p.m. just before graduation begins. The college website will provide more details as the date gets closer.

“We’re really excited about this,” White-Zollman said. “We’ve not heard of any other ceremonies quite like this. It’s kind of unique. We wanted to find a fun way to give our graduates the kind of recognition they deserve.”