ROSSMOOR, Calif. — The seventh annual Los Alamitos High School graduation parade took place last weekend on May 30. The event was hosted by the Rossmoor Homeowners Association, with sponsorship from Financial Partners Credit Union, marking another year of celebrating graduating seniors and allowing the community to join in their celebration.
At 9:30 a.m., graduating students, friends and family began arriving at the Shops of Rossmoor center, where decorated vehicles parked closely mingled together, allowing for everyone to fit.
By 11:00 a.m., the Rossmoor community held its welcome program, where members such as Los Alamitos Unified School District superintendent Dr. Andrew Pulver, Los Alamitos Mayor Tanya Doby, Los Alamitos Rotary Club member Art Remnet and LAHS principal Christiana Kraus offered their congratulations and wished them a safe journey ahead.
“I’m really excited (for the parade), we’re going to have a lot of fun. There are lots of balloons, and everyone’s (car is) decorated really pretty. I’m just very excited to see everyone,” said LAHS valedictorian Micheal Wu.
The parade kicked off at around 11:30 a.m., led by representatives from the school district, including the Orange County Fire Authority, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Seal Beach and Los Alamitos Police Departments, as well as a number of other dignitaries.
The graduates rode together with their friend groups, either sitting on top, in the back, or inside their car, while cheering and celebrating the end of high school. The vehicles in the parade were all carefully decorated with blue and red balloons, streamers and banners representing their senior students. The banners included the seniors’ names, their graduating year and the college they will be attending.
“We bought so many balloons (for the parade). I made sure to tag along (with) every friend I could. It’s the last celebration before we graduate,” said LAHS senior Lester Ramirez, “I feel very emotional (that senior year is over). It’s an emotional experience because I feel like I’m (leaving) many people behind.”
Families and friends of their seniors lined the streets of Rossmoor, cheering them on as they passed through the neighborhood, creating a perfect end to a great senior year for LAHS’s graduating class.
