Two Jordan High School graduates pass a phone as they take photos in front of the school after a drive-thru graduation ceremony on June 11, 2020. Traditional in-person ceremonies were canceled last year. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
If you were wondering what the deal was with all the car horns, Thursday, that was just the Class of 2020, a class sure to be remembered for enduring what few other classes have ever had to endure. Fittingly, their commencement ceremonies, Thursday, were like few ever seen in Long Beach.
The senior classes of Cabrillo, Jordan, McBride, Millikan, Poly and Wilson high schools received their diplomas in a decidedly Southern California manner: sitting inside a car rolling very slowly behind a procession of other similarly slow rollers. But, as you might imagine, no one was complaining about this gradlock (sorry, Class of 2020).
As unique as the circumstances were, these were also typical graduations in a lot of ways, with lots of cheering, laughter and some tears.
Teachers congratulated students, students thanked teachers; music played—marching band at Poly, steel drums at Cabrillo—and principals handed out that one thing everyone had worked so hard for, diplomas, to students sitting in cars. Students who will always remember a graduation that will be hard for anyone to forget.
The face of a graduate sticks out of a car roof at Long Beach Poly High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Jose Lopez waves to school staff during a drive-thru graduation ceremony at Cabrillo High School. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Jalysa Perez cheers as she sees one of her teachers at Millikan High School. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Tina Byrd cheers for graduates as they cruise through the Cabrillo High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Jalysa Perez gets overwhelmed as she wipes away tears during a Millikan High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Cars line up and come through the Jordan High School drive-thru graduation ceremony at the school. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Eddie Romero hangs out the car window as he receives his high school diploma during a Jordan High School drive-thru graduation ceremony at the school. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Eddie Romero hangs out the car window as he drives away with a banner on the back of the car that says it all during a Jordan High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Oscar and Tania Marquez pack the whole family in the van as they celebrate the family’s first high school graduate, Nya, at Millikan High School. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.A car enters the Long Beach Polly High school drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.teacher Michelle Worden wears a blow-up costume with a fan inside to keep her cool as she cheers Millikan High School graduates. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.John Hauser stands in front of a giant W after a drive-thru graduation ceremony at Wilson High School. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Sheyla Catalan and Gabriel Leal lead the school’s color guard at Long Beach Polly High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Jonathan Lopez waves to school staff at Millikan High School during a drive-thru graduation ceremony at there school. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Daria Frazer stands in front of the giant W for photos as her brother Robin looks on after a drive-thru graduation ceremony at Wilson High School. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.A’kyra Anderson-Spurling reacts as she comes through the Long Beach Poly High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Cars, truck, vans and other 4-wheel vehicles line up as they make their way through Millikan High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Dylan Gambino drives a vintage car with his brother, mother and grandmother at Cabrillo High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Teacher and school staff at Millikan High School cheer as graduates come through a drive-thru graduation ceremony at their school. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Elijah Leonard looks ahead as he comes through a through Millikan High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Cabrillo High School principal Cheryl Cornejo hands Jose Marin his diploma during a drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Sidney Zaragoza and her family members come through the Long Beach Polly High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Music plays and the cheering never stops as teachers and school staff at Millikan High School cheer graduates. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Cabrillo High School principal Cheryl Cornejo hands a graduate diploma during a drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Sebastian Peraza Hernandez shows the top of his cap as his sister honks the horn at Long Beach Poly High School drive-thru graduation ceremony. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.George Deloviar one of Jordan High School’s valedictorians reaches for a wrist band from school staff. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.Miguel Cortez, of Jordan High School, waves at school staff as he and his family go through a drive-thru graduation ceremony at the school. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.A Jordan High school graduate and family go through the drive-thru graduation ceremony at the school in Long Beach, Thursday, June 11, 2020. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.