Massapequa Seniors Celebrate Graduation With Car Parade

MASSAPEQUA, NY — Massapequa High School seniors traded their blue caps and gowns for navy blue and gold Chief Nation shirts for a car parade through town on June 22. With that evening’s scheduled graduation ceremony postponed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, seniors were still able to make memories on their special day.

It was at Berner Middle School – where the class of 2020 first came together six years ago from a half-dozen elementary schools – that they reunited after three months of home instruction.

Hours before the parade was set to begin, cars began lining up in the middle school’s expansive parking lot, providing ample space for a graduating class approaching 580 students. There were fewer cars than that, with many friends riding together. Other seniors were driven by a parent so they could soak in the moment.

Before the parade began, students put the finishing touches on their car decorations, from balloons and streamers to photos and flags. They wrote celebratory messages on their windows and draped banners over their hoods.

A Massapequa fire truck led the parade down Carman Mill Road to Merrick Road, where it continued in the right lane to the high school. Cars then turned into the west parking lot and passed under a blue-and-gold balloon arch. After the parade, seniors were invited to pick up their personalized lawn signs from the front of the school.

“The parade meant the world to all of the seniors,” said student government President Alex Carmenaty. “We have been through a lot, and we have overcome a lot, too. The love we were shown was something that we will never forget, as we’ll have that in our memories for the rest of our lives. Massapequa has blessed us with a community that always provides for its people, especially us seniors this year.”