Governor Asa Hutchinson's Weekly Address

The graduation season is upon us, so today I am congratulating the members of the Class of 2022 who overcame the expected difficulties of high school and college and then surmounted the totally unexpected challenges of a worldwide pandemic. COVID-19 forced you to do many things differently. You attended some classes virtually from time to time. You might have missed some extracurricular activities such as music programs, competitive sports, and clubs. For all that you missed, you also learned some lessons that you wouldn’t have otherwise. You watched leaders at all levels of health care and government assess the medical information and decide how to combat COVID-19 and how to keep Americans safe. We witnessed robust debate about the intersection of science, medicine, public opinion, and emotion. I imagine that these are lessons many of you will take into your careers, whether you are in public service or the private sector. In Arkansas, we went virtual in our schools for a short time. We knew the best outc