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Arlington Heights church gives graduates the on-stage photograph they missed

With a celebratory whoop and fist pump, Prospect High School 2020 graduate Adam Ryerson stepped off the stage to complete his graduation walk. All the way back to his family's car, three parking spots away.

He was the first of 25 graduates to arrive for a free professional photo, on stage, in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church in Arlington Heights Sunday morning.

"So much has been taken away from them (graduates) because of COVID-19, this is a way to give them some sort of positive remembrance," said the Rev. TC Anderson, who helped organize the photo shoots. "We set up in the parking lot outside and are still in compliance with regulations."

Most of the morning was booked with seven-minute sessions for the graduates and their families, taken on a stage complete with balloons.

"We were trying to think of a way to honor the students and this is what we came up with," Anderson said. "So they get a picture they would not normally get."

  Hersey High School 2020 graduate Lizzy Wetzel has her photo taken in her cap and gown in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church, background, in Arlington Heights Sunday morning. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Photographers stand under a tent with telephoto lenses to take pictures of Prospect High School 2020 graduate Adam Ryerson and his family Sunday in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church in Arlington Heights. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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