Florida High School Held Graduation Ceremonies At Sea, Having Students Ride In On Jet Skis [Video]

• Somerset Island Prep Charter High School in Florida prepared for a one-of-a-kind commencement ceremony for their graduating glass that takes into consideration social distancing rules.
• The students rode on jet skis to pick up their diplomas, which their principal handed out using a grabber pole device to avoid hand contact.
• The school required that the students take a jet ski training course before the ceremonies to ensure students’ safety.

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Somerset Island Prep in Key West, Florida arranges for their commencement ceremonies to be held on water in place of the usual walk-across-a-stage graduation for this year’s graduating class.

The graduating seniors from the charter high school each rode a jet ski to pick up their diplomas Tuesday. The videos of the commencement ceremonies were posted online, showing the world their one-of-a-kind graduation ceremonies during this pandemic.

Somerset Island Prep in Key West, FL found a unique way to honor the Class of 2020 with a jet ski graduation!

In graduation caps, gowns and masks, the students jet skied to their principal who presented them with high school diplomas.#SomersetAcademy #Academica pic.twitter.com/qQtff89FMD— Academica (@Academica) May 27, 2020

The students used a jetski to meet their principal who stood on a docked boat to hand out their diplomas using a grabber pole device. One-by-one, the students received their diplomas without hand contact.

The school required the students to take a three-hour jet ski training course before their graduation ceremonies in partnership with a local company that shouldered the expenses for the training and loaned the watercraft to the school.

Principal Tom Rompella of Somerset Island Prep said in a statement, “This final ceremonies for our seniors represents the same theme that has played out throughout the entirety of their time at Island Prep: that no barrier is too large to overcome and that through creativity and hard work we can overcome any challenge.”

The high schools continue to innovate for the commencement ceremonies for the graduating class this year. This is in response to the pandemic in the country that prompted the national government to prohibit mass gatherings.

In Telluride, Colorado, one high school decided on holding graduation ceremonies in ski gondolas. In New Hampshire, a high school plans to use chairlifts to transport the graduates for commencement exercises, and receive their diplomas on Cranmore Mountain.

These are some of the more complicated graduation ceremonies. Most high schools arrange for virtual or drive-in ceremonies for their graduating class this year to stay indoors.

Source: Insider