It’s been a very untraditional year for high school seniors who have to stay at home and finish their classes online, due to the coronavirus.
Mandarin High School senior Sydney Cook told WJCT News seniors are frustrated by the turn of events, even though they understand the severity of the situation.
“It’s like we’re missing out, but at the same time, our issues don’t really matter compared to people who are risking their lives,” Cook said.
Duval County’s high school graduations have been bumped from May to July, due to safety concerns about the pandemic.
For Cook, that means a mid-summer ceremony that will overlap with her next challenge: college.
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“I’m starting college in the summer. So that's another thing. You know, I'm obviously not the only kid that's going to start college through summer and it's going to be online probably. But it's still that we're like, I’ll be starting college and I’ll also be graduating from high school at the same time.”
Still, when surveyed by the district, Cook chose a traditional graduation ceremony over a virtual one, so she could have family there — even though that means delaying the ceremony by two months.
The district has started plans for the July graduation and will keep families informed as the situation progresses.
Michelle Corum can be reached at mcorum@wjct.org, 904-358-6308 or on Twitter at @MCorumonME.