Drive-by celebration honors Annandale HS graduates
The Class of 2020 missed out on prom, the all-night graduation party, and spring sports.
The stay-at-home order aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to all the fun activities that cap off 12 years of schooling. As one Annandale High School student put: “Senior year kind of sucked.”
But while they did not have a formal in-person graduation event – at least not yet – seniors across the region enjoyed drive-by salutes.
Saturday morning, dozens of parents and other supporters cheered and honked as they drove by a line of seniors sitting along Montrose Street in Lincolnia. A fire truck from the Edsall Road Fire Station joined the parade with sirens roaring.
Annandale High School graduate Ariel Batino says what he missed most was the senior prom and soccer season. He plans to spend the summer resuming his job at an ice cream shop in Tysons as soon as it reopens and will attend George Mason University in the Fall.
Sydney Wuhrer, an Annandale graduate who is heading to Virginia Tech, missed the lacrosse season and the all-night graduation party. And instead of going to a music festival, she’ll be spending the summer working as a nanny.
Academically, the last couple of months were “optional” for seniors, she says, as most students didn’t need the grades.
“The senior year was really fun until coronavirus,” says Ethan Pulket, a Lincolnia resident who went to Lake Braddock Secondary School for the AP program. He appreciated the drive-by celebration, noting “a lot of people are going out of the way to make graduation feel special.”
Ethan is going to Christopher Newport University in the fall and this summer plans to be a lifeguard at the Lincolnia Park Recreation Club, but there hasn’t been a decision yet on when the pool will open.
“It’s really sad to think about not seeing everyone from school anymore,” he says.
