Oak Brook students in the Class of 2020 had their graduation procession on wheels Saturday morning.
Families with children graduating from grammar or high school were invited to drive them from Brook Forest Elementary School in Oak Brook to the York Woods subdivision, while residents, spaced a safe distance apart, could cheer them on.
“We were very pleased we got so many graduates to participate,” said Aarti Karamchandani, whose son Anuj graduated from Hinsdale Central High School in May and who also had a graduate from the University of Illinois.
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Due to the coronavirus shelter-at-home instructions, graduation ceremonies and large parties were canceled.
In cars decorated with the names and school colors of Butler Junior High School, Hinsdale Central, Downers Grove North High School and private schools, including Montini Catholic High School in Lombard and Benet Academy in Lisle, the graduates paraded south on Regent Drive to eastbound 31st Street and then north on York Road. Through the vehicles’ sunroofs, students wearing their caps and gowns waved and held signs.
“Some cars had ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ playing, so it really felt like a procession,” Karamchandani said.
“There were so many community members lining the streets. It made them feel what we wanted them to feel, which is special,” she said.
Four fire trucks led the parade and the Oak Brook police followed at the end.
Karamchandani and parent Angie Lopez thanked Oak Brook Village President Gopal Lalmalani and the village staff who helped organize and run the parade.
