Somerset Island Prep’s graduates, families and guests took to the Gulf of Mexico May 25 for a commencement ceremony aboard a Fury catamaran in the waters off Key West.
From the catamaran, disembarked onto a small barge. Then, six at a time, the graduates boarded a banana boat that was towed by a Jet Ski to Fury’s inflatable and floating stage.
Students’ names were read over the catamaran’s PA system as Principal Thomas Rompella conferred their diplomas.
Graduates then navigated the Fury’s inflatable water park and jumped on a jet ski that returned them to the boat.
Friends, families and guests were able to watch it all unfold from the deck of the Fury Cat.
This year’s maritime graduation followed last year’s inaugural event in which students, wearing caps and gowns, rode jet skis from a Key West beach to a waiting boat, where they received their diplomas.
In addition to high school diplomas, four Somerset Island Prep students received their Associate of Arts degrees from Guillermo Rivera, chief academic officer of Doral College. Overall, 17 graduates crossed the stage and more than half of them left high school with college credits.
