OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Peyton Panovich and Amy Qiang opted out of their high school graduation.
The Shawnee Mission West seniors, who graduated Wednesday night, were invited to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix — a prestigious event that directly conflicted with their high school graduation.
“My first thought kind of went to I wasn’t going to be able to walk across, but then I realized that this is also a great opportunity, and that’s going to be a lot of fun as well,” Panovich said.
Both girls thought about it and talked to mom and dad.
“You know, the parents really like to see their kids graduate, walk across the stage and my parents were both like, 'Well, it’s your decision, but if it was me, I think I would go to the science fair,'” Qiang said.
That’s when the Shawnee Mission School District stepped in and decided to virtually walk both students across the stage via one of their favorite teachers, Chris Wiley, and an iPad on Wednesday at SM South District Stadium.
"I’ve been working on this research all year and that I wouldn’t want this one night to not let me see where I could take my research," Panovich said.
Qiang added, “I think the science fair presents really cool chances to meet amazing people from around the world because there’s almost two thousand kids there from like 70 different countries."
The moment got quite a few giggles from the crowd and gave the girls a graduation memory they always will remember.
