West Point-Bound Massapequa Grad Gets Special Send Off

MASSAPEQUA, NY — “Today, you are going to be the first graduate of the Massapequa High School class of 2020,” Principal Brian Conboy told Allen John Pilate III in the auditorium lobby on July 2, in front of a small gathering of family members and staff.

The senior, better known as A.J., will be attending the United States Military Academy Preparatory School at West Point. Because he has to be there before Massapequa’s graduation ceremony on July 22, he was given an opportunity to put on his blue gap and gown and receive his diploma. The socially distanced ceremony was attended by family members, teachers, guidance staff, coaches and administrators including new high school Principal Barbara Lowell.

Conboy, who served as interim principal for the past two years, opened the short program by playing pomp and circumstance on his phone, then spoke about A.J.’s achievements at Massapequa High School. A.J. was an All-County lacrosse player and was on the 2019 state championship team. He also played football and wrestled, was a member of the National Honor Society and Peer AIDS Educators Club, and took several Advanced Placement and college-level courses.

A.J., who attended Fairfield Elementary School as a child, said he wanted to go to West Point Prep because it offered him an opportunity to pursue all of his passions – serve his country, get a good education and play lacrosse. He wants to study mechanical engineering and eventually become an engineer in the Army’s special forces.