Graduating Looks Different This Year

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As the school year comes to an end, many special senior events were planned for the Class of 2020. Exciting events and activities such as riding scooters, senior chapel and screaming Psalm 24 are some of the special events that every graduating class before was able to experience. Spring of senior year is supposed to be a time for seniors to reminisce on their high school years and look forward to their upcoming transition to college. When the beginning of the school year started in August, many last events were occurring for the seniors, and no one predicted the last events would come so soon for all of the seniors. While distance learning is still going on, the last day on campus was March 12 for all Wesleyan students. With the closure of school for the remainder of the school year, the entire Wesleyan community is affected, but this pandemic is especially affecting the class of 2020.

While the coronavirus has taken currently over the world and caused many countries to quarantine, this is especially affecting the seniors who are graduating at this time. Spring of senior year is supposed to be an exciting time for the class of 2020. However, COVID-19 is affecting many graduation plans. Senior Will Stakel said, “I’m not really sure how it’s going to affect my graduation. I know our grad party got postponed, so hopefully that still happens. I hope graduation still happens as well because that’s a memory I’ll always remember and have been looking forward to for a while.” Throughout the class there seems to be a lot of uncertainty with many end of year plans. Senior Hannah Hummel has similar feelings towards her graduation plans. She said, “I am most likely not going to be able to have a grad party, which is so sad because I was really looking forwards to celebrating with my friends and family. It’s also most likely that we won’t have a normal graduation, and I have been looking forward to that for years.”

Wesleyan is working hard to reschedule special events to celebrate the Class of 2020. Wesleyan is trying their best to accommodate all of their students in this time of need, especially the seniors. English Teacher and Senior Girls Chair Kendra Morris said, “The administration as a whole has been brain storming with ways to celebrate the seniors with our hands tied basically. They are sad, frustrated and hopeful. The class officers have been working hard with trying to figure out and pushing some things in the summertime.” Wesleyan has been working hard to show love to the seniors. Director of Grounds David Carr and his team painted a heart with the number twenty on the quad, baseball field and football field. Although this is very sad time for the seniors, the graduating class is very grateful that Wesleyan is working hard to celebrate even though it is a difficult time to do so.

Another problem that has affected the senior class during this time is the inability to visit colleges, which makes it difficult for the students who have not decided where they will be attending next year. Even if the students have decided where they will be attending, it is also nice to visit ever so often to become accustomed with the student’s new home. Senior Micah Smith, who is committed to Georgia Southern University, said, “I won’t be able to go to Georgia Southern University in order to go to orientation. It will be online June 1, and I won’t be able to start summer classes. I also have to do workouts in my house, since I can’t train with my personal trainer because we are on lockdown.”

This is very difficult time for the class of 2020 because the students feel that they are being robbed of their senior year and activities that every other class has been able to experience. Unfortunately, no one knows when this virus will subside and when quarantine will be over. However, many people believe that although this is a very difficult time for everyone, many people will grow through this experience. Morris said, “One thing that I have found heartening is that people are saying that friendships and relationships are not being taken for granted. This is such a hard thing, but it is going to make the world so much stronger, it is hopeful, and God is here in all of this.” The class of 2020 is still hopeful that they will get to experience many of the special senior year events.

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