‘You had 1 job.’ Typo on graduation stoles at Illinois school called an ‘embarrassment’

An Illinois high school is vowing to make amends after students graduated in attire that included an unfortunate typo.

As the Rich Township High School students received their diplomas May 20, they wore stoles that read “gradutate” instead of “graduate.”

Rich Township High School is in Matteson, about 30 miles south of Chicago. More than 600 seniors graduated from the school, according to WGN.

For some graduates and their families, the typo marred what was supposed to be a perfect day.

“Dear Rich Township HS.. you had 1 job... 1 JOB,” one parent said on Facebook. “I had to go look at my sons and his friends to see if it was everybody’s ... and (it) is.”

“This is an embarrassment,” another person said on Facebook. “How did these make it past everyone?”

The high school and its vendor answered that question in a letter to families after graduation.

The sashes made by Herff Jones were printed with the error, and the high school did not notice it until after they were distributed, district officials said.

Herff Jones offered its “sincere apologies for the incorrect stoles.” The vendor plans on crediting the purchases and all graduates will receive a new stole with the correct spelling.

“Furthermore, we have reached out to the graduation photographer to ensure that the pictures taken will not be affected by this error,” the school district said. “They will be photoshopping all pictures. We will send out communication when those pictures will be available for purchase.”

To make sure the issue does not happen again, the school district said it would be “implementing measures” for future graduations.

The error wasn’t the worst thing for everyone involved — especially a student with the last name “Tate.”

“What do you call a Tate who graduated?? A GraduTate,” LaKeeta Tate said on Facebook.