Will Seniors Get A Normal Graduation?
If someone came to you in 2019 and told you that in 2020 covid-19 would create problems for so many people, affect schools in a drastic way, and cause the whole world to go into quarantine, would you believe them? You would not have been likely to believe them — but that’s exactly what happened. In March 2020 we left school to go into quarantine for 2 weeks and then go back to school, but instead we went into online classes. The class of 2020 had a drive-by graduation because they were unable to have a normal ceremonial graduation. As a senior, graduation will be the biggest accomplishment for me because, personally I was never an A student, had a 4.0 GPA, or even on the top ranks of school. I always struggled in school, never wanted to go, and if I did, it was only to fool around in classes and make friends. The amount of times I have thought and went through counselors to drop out of high school is not a number I am proud of, but it is something that I can say that helped me accomplish many things I didn’t think were even possible. Graduation is a celebration that celebrates all of the seniors hard work and dedication in their school work, and for a lot of our seniors, balancing extracurricular activities with responsibilities along with all curricular obligations. For this reason, the question of whether or not seniors will get an in person graduation is very important to many students. Ms. Grosland, one of the amazing counselors that we have here at Mountain View High School, explained that she wishes she had an accurate answer, but “we never know what could happen from now to May.” It is uncertain at this time because of Covid, but they will let us know when they receive more information as graduation gets nearer. Mrs. Andromidas, one of the vice principals of the school, says, “If we have a graduation right now, we probably will not see a regular ceremony like we would normally have. BYU and UVU have specific parameters, but the main goal is to celebrate the graduates. Few schools have had the opportunity to celebrate graduation in the same way. Maybe this year with the vaccine, we can find some unity. So is there still hope? Absolutely, but nothing is certain yet. It also depends on what the students want, but we will find a way to celebrate our graduates this year. Just know that we will make it special for all of our graduates.”
Covid-19 has affected so many people and shifted and changed our lives in a way that no one expected it to be changed. Although at this time it is very uncertain and we don’t have a solid answer as to how graduation is going to look this year, we do have faith in what is going to happen and trust that our faculty and all of the committees will make graduation an amazing experience for the graduating class of 2021, whether it’s an in person ceremony or a drive-by graduation.
