Columbus High graduates cross the finish line at Miami-Homestead Speedway

Christopher Columbus High School’s graduating class finally crossed the finish line on Saturday.

They never dreamed that it would be the checkered finish line of the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

On a hot and humid Saturday morning, 390 graduates of the Class of 2020 arrived early at the speedway for a graduation ceremony unlike any other. They had as close to a traditional graduation ceremony as possible, with a once-in-a-lifetime twist.

After the formalities, students got the chance to drive around the track to get their diploma through their car window before revving off for another victory lap. Staff handed out car flags printed with “C-20” so each car could look like its own race car.

“I didn’t think we would have any of this,” said valedictorian Jared Coleman, 17, as he stared at the vast array of cars with flags flapping in the wind. “I’m amazed they were able to put this all together for us. ...There’s a ton of other venues I would’ve thought of before this. This is amazing.”

His mother, father and younger sister and brother were parked in front of the graduation stage.

“Everything Columbus has done for our son has been amazing from the first day he was accepted to this moment,” said Jared’s mother, Patricia Coleman. “And to finish this off [like this] lives up to the name of the Columbus brotherhood and a great sendoff to the next part of their journey.”

Like all high schools around the nation, the all-boys Catholic high school wasn’t immune to the wave of cancellations brought on by the coronavirus’ pandemic. Graduates begged administrators for some kind of in-person ceremony, and administrators made a promise.

“When we went into remote learning and they lost all their school events, we promised them we would do something very special for them. And a promise is a promise,” said Principal David Pugh. “We were able to pull this off and we couldn’t be more excited.”

That promise was fulfilled, even if graduation took place a month later than it normally would.

The race track’s CEO, Al Garcia, a Columbus graduate in the Class of 1981, was already in talks with Columbus’ president Thomas Kruczek to do something special. When the pandemic struck in March, Garcia made a call to see what he could do.

“It’s like, OK, these kids can’t have a traditional graduation so what can we do?” Garcia said. “This is unique. It’s gonna be so cool. I’m really happy for these kids.”

Columbus isn’t the only school to get the chance to be on the track, which allows for a socially distanced event. The city of Homestead is honoring grads from South Dade and Homestead Senior High schools on the track next week. The Rotary Club of Homestead already had a ceremony for scholarship recipients, and a few charter schools will also have a special ceremony on the track.

“We take a lot of pride in being good corporate citizens,” Garcia said.

Poles were wrapped in Columbus logos with balloons in the school’s colors. An electronic marquee towered over the speedway flashing well wishes in red and blue. A plane flew a banner over the speedway that read “Congrats Explorers.” Even face masks had the Columbus logo.

Graduates enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. Some gathered for the first time in months. The speedway resembled a tailgate with graduates milling around their families’ parked cars.

“No one wants to sit on the speedway in pants,” said 18-year-old Nicholas Perez-Soto, who wore shorts and boat shoes under his dark blue gown. A first-timer at the Speedway, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said.

Perez-Soto gathered before the ceremony with friends he’s had since pre-kindergarten. They were still bummed about their canceled graduation trip to Bimini.

Adolfo Anzola, 18, said he still wanted to see his teachers one last time. Others were happy to have something to crown their time at Columbus.

“It gives us closure,” said Dmitri Enriquez, 18.

Just like at football games, graduate Joseph Rodriguez kicked off the ceremony with The Star Spangled Banner on his electric guitar. Car horns replaced raucous applause.

There was a limited number of student and administration speakers on stage as graduates and their families listened in their cars on a radio frequency while parked on the track.

The extraordinary Class of 2020 deserved an extraordinary ceremony. They remembered their lost brother, Ari Arteaga, a football player who was killed in a car crash. The school went on to win its first state title in a miracle comeback last fall. The graduates logged 60,000 community service hours and thousands of dollars raised for charity.

Miami-Dade and Doral police provided escorts for the cars to go around the track.

Carter Burrus had the honor of waving the checkered flag at the finish line. At 76, he scaled the long ladder to the platform as students got their diplomas in the cars, two by two.

“If I were every other class I would want to do this,” said Burrus, who is a Columbus graduate himself from the Class of 1962. He taught at his alma mater from 1968 to 1991 and returned to the school about a decade ago as a guidance counselor. “Who gets a chance to do something like this? This is spectacular.”

The cars lined back up for one last tradition before taking off on a victory lap. The graduates stepped out of their cars and, all together, threw their caps to the sky.

This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 4:17 PM.