COVID-19 and the Class of 2020
In a pandemic everyone is impacted by the change. Especially high school seniors like Kelli Nusspickel.
Nusspickel, 19, is a senior at Carroll Senior High School in Southlake, Texas. Like so many other students, Nusspickel was looking forward to the staples of a senior year.
“It honestly hurt me to watch her senior year pretty much just end,” Kristin Nusspickel said. “As a mother you want your children to go to prom and experience those moments in life, so it is very sad.”
Corona virus, or COVID-19, has brought about the cancellation of classes and school events all over the country. Carroll Senior High was no exception.
“Coming to terms with the fact that senior year is over is hard,” Nusspickel said.
Nusspickel expressed the boredom and lack of energy that comes with being inside all day, yet understands the meaning in all of the madness.
“Everybody’s adjusting, everybody’s understanding what life is in a pandemic. I think it’s really important to stay close to family and tell those who you love, that you love them”.
Graduation is still a question for the young student, as Carroll Senior High has yet to announce their plans for the event.
Nusspickel is hopeful, but is aware that the likelihood of being able to walk across the stage, is diminishing.
“I know that there’s a possibility that we could not even get a chance to experience graduation. They have discussed holding it later in the summer, but for now this could be another sacrifice we have to make.”
Sacrifices are ever increasing in the pandemic rages on through the world. America has recently become the number one country for cases of Coronavirus in the world.
With the closures of schools a new tool for teachers has helped them stay connected, but has taken Nusspickel some time to get used to. Zoom is an online streaming service that allows for teachers to hold meetings for their students and teach them the important content they need to graduate.
“It is difficult to adjust to a new style of anything, but even more so when you’re so used to in-person interaction,” Nusspickel said. “I thrive better in a classroom setting, but I am adapting and feel better about it now”.
As the world is on a stand still, Nusspickel is still able to find the positive perspective.
“Looking ahead is the most positive that you can be in the time that we are in.”
Nusspickel will be attending the University of Oklahoma in the fall. She is excited for the new chapter ahead and reminding herself to keep looking forward.
She has been keeping herself busy throughout the days looking at dorm decorations and taking virtual tours of the campus to keep her moral up.
“I really am just thankful that I have that to look forward to. I’m sad about everything going on, but I know what I have in my future and it looks pretty good.”
She will be studying Production Design and hopes to change the world with music and sound.
“Hope is really what we need right now. Hope and people staying inside, stay healthy, and washing their hands.”
Social distancing has been in effect for a little over a month in America, and luckily this student knows how to beat the isolation blues.
“I spend time making sure I interact with my friends, digitally of course, very often to keep my mood up. They lift me up more than anything and it makes quarantine a little more bearable in my opinion. I am really quite fortunate to have that”.
