Mars Class of 2022 celebrates in school parking lot
ADAMS TWP – Amid sporadic bursts of rain, members of the Mars Area High School Class of 2022 congregated in the parking lot of the school Wednesday evening to celebrate their graduation side by side with their families and friends.
The parking-lot commencement trend, which began two years ago as a way to accommodate COVID-19 precautions while still making room for the celebration, returned for a third time this year following positive reactions from families.
“All of the feedback that we’ve gotten the past two years has been pretty much all positive,” said Dave Kuremsky, a member of the graduation team and a math teacher at the school. “It’s something that’s certainly unconventional, but it really is a lot of fun.”
Parents chose the outdoor celebration through a survey sent out at the beginning of the year, he said.
“It wasn’t really even that close of a vote — it was a resounding yes, and that speaks volumes, when you talk about people voting yes for something that they’ve never been to before,” said Kuremsky. “I think that shows the level that we’ve got something special going here.”
He added that the graduating class seemed to enjoy the event as well.
“I really think they appreciate the event that we put on, the work that goes into it, the fact that they get to be with their friends,” he said. “It’s a special event, and the kids appreciate it.”
In an attempt to sidestep rain, students were asked to arrive early at 5:45 p.m., but proceedings were temporarily delayed by a storm. Commencement resumed shortly after the rain had passed.
As students received their diplomas from members of the school board, who drove around following a golf cart, prerecorded speeches were offered by superintendent Mark Gross, principal Lindsay Rosswog, student speaker Sarah Hooper, student-selected speaker Luke Smelko, and Class of 2022 co-presidents Sydney Carr and Alexandra Organ.
Rosswog emphasized the Class of 2022’s perseverance through a tough few years.
“It’s a real celebration of the students, and they’re great kids,” she said. “This class has, I would say, just the stamina and the gumption to kind of push through all the different challenges that they’ve faced. They really have felt it for the last two and a half years, and so to have this celebration for them is amazing.”
Students were excited by the opportunity to share their graduation celebration with their families. Graduating senior Jordan Banks, who will study bio-engineering on a pre-med track at the University of Pittsburgh, was looking forward to the event.
“It’s nice, because I get to bring all of my family,” Banks said. “My sister and my grandma are from out of town, and my nieces got to come, instead of just having four people in the auditorium.”
Banks' family piled into a car, set up chairs outside and decorations on their windows, and waited for the start of the celebration. For Banks, the event was a finish to a chaotic but mostly normal year.
“They tried to make it as normal as they could, so we really appreciated that as seniors,” she said. “Especially this year, it was just savoring time with your classmates, because we didn’t have it for so long.”
Families gathered outside their cars with decorations, balloons, paint markers, streamers and flags bearing the names of universities and programs their graduating seniors would attend in their lives after Mars.
Annette Wu, a Mars Area mom whose daughter, Grace Wu, will attend West Virginia University, wrote on the window of her car to congratulate her graduating senior.
“I love this atmosphere,” she said. “We made a bunch of laminated pictures, and we’re going to put those all over the windows. We’re just trying to make it the best party we can.”
Graduating senior Ella Seebacher huddled with her older sister, Amanda Seebacher, under an umbrella to wait out the rain. Ella will attend Penn State University to study education.
“I’m super excited, and I’m excited to go to Penn State, because my sister went there,” she said.
Mars Area math teacher Andy Bednar, whose daughter, Danielle Bednar, will attend the University of Louisville to study business, said the new graduation format was “awesome.” He has attended previous graduations for his sons, Mars graduates and professional baseball pitchers David and Will Bednar.
“I think it’s just such a different atmosphere,” he said. “This is just a lot of energy. It’s just wonderful.”
