Local seniors face graduation without big celebrations

The end of senior year is typically a time of celebration: prom, commencement, graduation parties and senior trips. It is a time to reflect on high school achievements and finally reap the rewards of four years of hard work.

This year’s class of 2020, however, faces a unique situation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. With prom canceled, a questionable graduation ceremony, no large gatherings or celebrations, and canceled senior trips, it looks to be a quiet ending to the local seniors’ high school days.

While seniors recognize the necessity of staying home and safe, it doesn’t lessen the disappointment of missing such memorable milestones. The experiences that typically mark the end of high school and the beginning of independence — the cap and gown, walking across the stage toward a diploma, posing for graduation photos surrounded by friends, celebrating with family — are in jeopardy of being replaced by a letter in the mail. Students are still hopeful, but they are also coming to terms with the plausible eventuality — that the end of the school year won’t be what they imagined.

“Senior year is full of anticipation. We have all been anxiously awaiting graduation traditions (senior trips, prom, and celebrations) for the last 13 years,” Glacier High School senior Laura Symmes said. “All of that is gone for the time-being.”

Symmes, like many others, had already planned a graduation party and was excited for family members to arrive from across the country to attend the ceremony.

To add to the stress, no one imagined having to finish classes online without the presence of friends and teachers. Without strict class times and hard due dates, many students find it difficult to muster up the motivation to make the most of their classes.

Glacier senior Holly Trina said “social life is a major aspect of our world and having that taken away can be difficult, especially for those who are extroverted and feed off the energy of others. It’s hard to stay motivated when your peers and teachers, who are usually there to guide you, are suddenly absent.”

BUT IT’S not just the students who are struggling. Teachers are also faced with a tough dilemma. As they transition their coursework online and learn to use teaching technology such as GoogleMeet and Zoom, teachers deal with the issue of student access to the internet and technology at home. Because of such limitations, they do not have the control over their classes that they would in a traditional classroom. Teachers are required to give at least a week for students to complete assignments, and must maintain avenues for students to get in touch to ask questions.

Glacier High School social studies teacher Kristyn Morin explained her challenges in the transition: “For the past 36 years in education, I have always relied on the ‘physical’ aspects of teaching in order to gauge my students’ emotional and physical well-being.

“This pandemic has changed everything for me,” Morin said. “I am constantly trying to read between the lines of the 50 to 60 emails and text messages I receive daily to see what my kids need from me.”

Despite these setbacks, Morin points to the silver lining.

“Never has there been a class so well-prepared to handle online learning” than the “remarkable class of 2020”, she noted.

Although it’s a difficult situation for all parties, the students are making the most of it, even learning some things not possible in a classroom.

Trina reflected on her experience in quarantine learning from home, saying “there are many difficulties, but I am slowly settling in. I’m learning to pull inspiration from nature, where once that inspiration came only from classrooms and classmates.

“I find myself going outside more often, and I’ve noticed how much some fresh air can make a difference in your mindset,” Trina continued. “The experience is most definitely unique, but it is times like these that remind us of the power of gratitude.”

Symmes, too, is pushing forward with a positive attitude.

“A lot of kids in the world will never see a graduation day, but I know we will, we just have to hang in there,” she added.

Daily Inter Lake intern Katie Lessmeier is a senior at Glacier High School.