Graduates Will Race For Their Diplomas At A Florida Speedway In June

With graduation ceremonies canceled across the country, one Florida school has found a creative way for its class of 2020 to graduate. Columbus High School announced its collaboration with Homestead-Miami Speedway for a diploma race this summer. The race track offered their venue to seniors for the ceremony on June 20.

"I'm honor to help my Columbus brother by hosting the 2020 graduation here at the Miami Speedway," Al Garcia, president of the track, said in the promotional video posted on Twitter.

A virtual graduation was already held for the private school. Still, officials felt it wasn't enough for the graduating class that has seen the latter half of their final year decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the speedway opening their venue, students would get all of the "pomp and circumstance" of regular graduation; but instead of walking across the stage, they will get in their cars and drive one lap around the track. Once they reach the finish line, their diploma will be waiting for them.  

This isn't the first time this idea has popped up in Florida.  Seniors at the Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts also took to the track to race for their diploma, according to the Pensacola News-Journal. 

In Central Florida, the First Academy in Orlando held a traditional graduation, but with each of the 120 students arriving at a separate time to receive their certificate, resulting in a 13-hour graduation, according to the Orlando Sentinel. 

As the country navigates daily life during the novel coronavirus, entertainment venues have found new ways to repurpose their spaces. Including multiple attractions across South Florida transforming into pop-up drive-in theaters to help reinforce social distancing rules while reopening their spaces for clients.