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River Terrace Grad Celebrated COVID Can’t Stop The Parade
Shelbi Harris-Mowat graduated from Hampton University with a Bachelor of Science (Kinesiology). Courtesy Kim Harris
by Elizabeth O’Gorek
S
helbi Harris-Mowatt stands in the front yard of her childhood home in River Terrace. The retaining wall of the front yard provides a stage. Draped in a Phi Epsilon Kappa stole and a dark blue cap and gown, she waves wildly at a passing row of about 25 gleaming cars. Many sport balloons and signs. As they cruise down the street, cars sound their horns honoring her graduation.
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TOP: LEFT TO RIGHT: The parade was led by Kim Harris’s cousin Sylvester Barnes in his yellow corvette, pictured here with Shelbi. Photo: Kim Harris
One of them even has a siren. Neighbors line the street, some standing in their yards filming the excitement with their phones. Others stand on sidewalks holding signs and waving at the passing parade. A young girl across the street sits with her family, waving a Congratulations Shelbi! sign; down the road, neighbors toast the passing cars and wave furiously. Several lay cards or tokens on the retaining wall at the feet of Harris-Mowat, con-
Shelbi waves at a car in the graduation parade. E.O’Gorek/CCN BOTTOM; LEFT TO RIGHT: Ms. Dawn, a neighbor who watched Shelbi grow up, poses with her signs at the parade. Photo: E.O’Gorek/CCN Shelbi Harris-Mowatt is pictured with her mother, Kim Harris, outside their River Terrace home. E.O’Gorek/CCN
