Former Students Reflect on Senior Year

Around the world the pandemic has left its mark on the Class of 2020, including those who once belonged to this communtiy.

Image piurchased from BigStock.com.

Image piurchased from BigStock.com.

Across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused schools and universities to shut down. High school seniors have been robbed of their senior experience, including graduations and other festivities.

To help foster community, here, teachers and administrators have supported seniors through special Zoom sesssions, mailing special popcorn, and visiting homes to gift congratulatory Class of 2020 lawn signs.

In addition, Upper School Head Joshua Neudel has organized a virtual Senior Week, and a tentitve in-person graduation ceremony is also scheduled for early August

Still, the celebration of the ending of high school is typically a more joyous occasion, which also fosters a sense of closure to a major part in young people's lives.

As a School "lifer," I reached out to several former Brimmer and May students around the globe, curious to hear how they are coping as their high school careers come to a close.

Julia Bednarz came here in 8th grade to study for a year. She currently lives in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. She attends a bilingual Franco-German school.

In Germany, she must take high-stakes exams before applying to university. However, with COVID-19, there remains much uncertainty regarding how and when exams will be conducted.

In addition, after high school, she had planned to take a gap year to travel Europe through Interrail, a popular program that relies on trains for transportation.

"Sadly, Interrail, as well as other trips are no longer possible," Bednarz said. "Depending on the course of the pandemic, I am planning on traveling and doing internships during my gap year before attending Medical School in fall of 2021."

Roberto Morassi came to Brimmer and May in 6th grade and left at the end of Middle School. He currently attends a British school in Spain.

Similar to Bednarz, Morassi needs to take exams at the end of May or June to be accepted into university.

His school had scheduled a graduation ceremony for June. Moreover, his School planned to have a two-to-three week trip throughout Europe. His grade agreed on visiting Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Split, and Dubrovnik.

"Given the current situation, and also taking into account that Spain's borders are rumored to be closed this summer, most people are currently canceling all accommodation and are scrambling to organize a different trip exclusively inside Spain," Morassi said.

Alexander Scheidl came here in Pre-K and left in Kindergarten. He currently lives in Austria.

For him, online classes started April 20. Since then, Scheidl has stayed focused on his final exams, set to take place at the end of May. The written exams are taken in three different subjects: German, a foreign language, and mathematics.

"Until the end of August, any festivals with more than 50 people have been cancelled. This means that there will not be a final school celebration," Scheidl said.

No matter where seniors are enrolled, around the world, celebrations have been canceled or postponed. But the pandemic must not divide the world's seniors, but bring them closer together. After all, shared experiences make us more alike than different.

Julia Bednarz.

Julia Bednarz.

Roberto Morassi.

Roberto Morassi.

Alexander Scheidl.

Alexander Scheidl.