Huntington Ingalls Industries hosted commencement exercises on April 17 for 154 graduates of the company’s Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding.

Due to the COVID-19 environment, and in an effort to keep all employees, staff, graduates and their guests safe, the ceremony was held outdoors at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton.

“A drive-in movie-style graduation is likely not what you expected, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that the past year in many ways isn’t what any of us expected,” said Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding.

“Graduating from the Apprentice School is not an easy feat and when you couple the long hours balancing your work and your studies, along with new obstacles you faced this year, like remote learning and working with your entire family in the same area, it makes this accomplishment even more extraordinary,” Boykin told the graduates. “The lessons you’ve learned during the past year have molded you in a way u...