A pair of Escalon High School graduates – members of the Class of 2020 – recently had the chance to graduate together a second time.

Garrett Nash and Clayton Ferreira, both of whom were three-sport athletes at EHS and participated in a variety of campus activities, left for boot camp in September.

“They both left for the U.S. Navy boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois on September 1,” explained Garrett’s mom, Carrie, a teacher and coach with the Escalon Unified School District. “They ended up being in the same division, ship 14 division 417.”

The graduation ceremony was on Friday, Oct. 30. Due to COVID restrictions, members of the families were not allowed to attend the ceremony.

However, the two former Cougars will now go on and continue with their Naval training and, again, will move on together.

“They are also assigned to the same A school in San Antonio, Texas to train to be MAs, which is Navy security,” Nash said.

She added that Garrett and Clayton enjoyed the opportunity to train together and also marched in to the graduation ceremony together.

Clayton Ferreira also received the special ‘Shipmate Award’ at the graduation ceremony. The award is presented to one sailor recruit whose ‘enthusiasm, supportive attitude and willingness to help others during their training period’ exceeded Navy standards.

“This is one of six awards given, in their case, to 14 divisions, about 900 sailor recruits,” Nash said of the recognition for Ferreira. “It’s very impressive.”