In the face of school closures nationwide due to the coronavirus, life for most students has continued on– just indoors. Students have migrated online to stream lectures, attend courses, take tests, and complete everyday assignments, likely for the remainder of the year. The pandemic has forced campuses to abruptly close schools until further notice in a matter of days, making these unexpected final moments of the academic year especially bittersweet.
For soon-to-be graduates in both high school and college, the pandemic threatens to impact several meaningful milestones. Events like graduation, prom, grad night, and other end-of-year celebrations that would’ve brought together family and friends before they move onto the next chapter of their lives may be postponed or canceled. These students didn’t have the chance to say proper goodbyes or make the most of what should’ve been their final days on campus.
Here are three high school seniors on how they came to terms with COVID-19 affecting their final academic year, what commencement celebrations mean to them, and their hopes for the future.
Melanie Rodrigez is a student at East Chapel Hill high school
“It felt like a really hard and sudden break-up when I was told this was my last day of classes for the time being. We didn’t expect it to happen. I actually distanced myself for a few days after and didn’t respond to any texts or calls from my friends because I couldn’t accept that was how my year was possibly going to be over. I didn’t want to lash out or have a breakdown in front of them. I’m in a group chat with other seniors, including the class president, and we’re thinking of doing a big mural in front of our school as a gift to the class of 2020. Regardless of what happens, we want to have something to commemorate what happened during our senior year.”
“I’d already bought my prom dress and graduation outfit, and I was planning to run for prom queen but that’s not going to happen now. I also already paid for my graduation cap and gown but it hasn’t been discussed yet whether graduation is off. What my peers and I feel is, even though prom is canceled, all we want to do is meet on the stage and graduate with our families watching us. I wouldn’t mind if it was delayed. I just want my family to see that I got handed a diploma.”
Kacie Green is a student at Carmel high school in Carmel Indiana.
“The day before our theater class was supposed to load all our props and equipment into where we were supposed to perform, our school announced that all extracurricular activities on campus would be canceled until April. At the time, we still had to go to school. But the next day, we were told that we would be out of school for the next three weeks and now, schools are closed indefinitely.
There were a lot of sad faces, and people were crying. It felt like everything we’d been working for, things you look forward to even as a freshman, was all gone in an instant. It felt awful. My friends and I are worried about missing prom, senior awards night, and all those big senior tradition moments that we’ve been looking forward to all these years.”
“The school closures didn’t really hit me until I heard that my choir show wasn’t going to happen, and then I realized what a big deal that was. We host a big choir show every year, and the program financially needs it since we invest money in costumes, lighting, a band, and sound. We spend all that money before we even sell a ticket, so if the show is off, then that’ll be a huge financial hit for the program and what it does next year. For theater, we have to buy the rights to the show, and we also buy materials to make costumes and sets. It’s really hard to make back that money as well if there’s no show this year, especially when the arts are so defunded for other things like sports. And even if the school postpones the musical until the fall, I can’t perform in it because I’ll be in college.”
Kirsten Forristal is a student at Mamaroneck high school in Mamaroneck New York.
“Graduation, for our school and my family, is a huge deal. It’s such a universal milestone, and everyone I know has graduated and walked the stage. The seniors usually have an event called “Reflections,” where students and organizations perform, and then there’s Class Night, which is a big barbecue night where people wear a T-shirt of what college they’re going to. The school district has no information yet on what’s going to happen. There have been jokes about us having a Skype graduation among my friends and I, but it’s unfortunate. My family and I postponed my grad party indefinitely, and I even had my graduation dress picked out since last June.”
“I am among the millions of students in this country not able to walk across the stage on graduation day and celebrate my achievements with the people I love. It has been really hard but I have tried to find the positivity in all of this. I am thankful that I am healthy, I don’t have to worry about losing my job or not being able to pay rent like many others. In some way, this worldwide pandemic has brought us together and knowing my generation, we will come up with a way to make up for our losses.”
