Several seniors were asked to write comments about their shortened senior year. Thanks to all the students who participated.

Jolie Geisendorfer

Going to school on March 18th, none of us knew it would be the last day of our senior year. I’m sure most of my classmates would agree that we would go about that day very differently if we would have known what was to come. Because of COVID-19, so many of our “lasts” were taken away. As a freshman, you look at the seniors in awe for so many different reasons. They seem so old and wise, and they get to do so many exciting things. Every year you get a little bit closer to becoming that senior that you have looked up to for so long. When you finally get there, you are so excited for all of the bittersweet lasts and unforgettable memories that are to come. For me, some of those included my last show for Drama Club, my last State Leadership Conference for FBLA, prom, our senior trip, and all of the ceremonies and events that happen the week of graduation. Unfortunately, I did not get to experience most of those things due to COVID-19. This pandemic was life altering for everyone, but I think it was hardest for the seniors, both high school and college. When school got out in March, we seniors still had classwork to complete every week. For my speech class, we had to take a completely different approach and deliver our presentations through Google Meet. Transitioning from in-person school to online in just a matter of days was very challenging for all involved, but we got through it. It is very difficult to come to terms with the fact that I did not get to have the senior experience that almost everyone else has gotten or will get in the future. Though I did not get to have a typical end to my senior year, I am thankful for the time I did have. I got to cheer on the Cougars in the student section during football and basketball season, I attended all of the dances we had, and got to perform in the fall play. I had the privilege to serve as an officer in many different organizations and am grateful for the opportunities those organizations gave me the past four years. My future plans are to attend Northwest Missouri State University in the fall and obtain a degree in Mass Media: Applied Advertising. I am excited for what this new chapter will bring, but ending my senior year without much closure makes it difficult to move on. I am so proud of the Class of 2020 and all that we have accomplished together the past thirteen years.

Jolie Geisendorfer

Highland

Logan Meyer

The saying “senior year goes by faster than you think” was especially true for this year. Everything changed when the Coronavirus became an issue in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic took away the last few months of my senior year. They were the months I was supposed to enjoy the most with my classmates and friends. Many opportunities were taken away or changed that I was really looking forward to, such as all the senior activities, my senior prom, and graduation. The organizations I was involved in all had to end early as well. In the club Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) we were not able to have the mock car accident. In Future Farmers of America (FFA) I was not able to go to State Convention to receive my State Degree that I worked hard for. In History Club we were not able to attend our end of the school year trip. If I would have known we were going to be robbed of two months of senior year my perspective would have changed a lot. I would have made those last few weeks count. We will not be able to have a normal graduation, which is disappointing because I have worked so hard to achieve my goals. I wish everyone would be able to be there to experience that alongside me. I cannot wait for the future but I am sad my senior year did not go as planned.

Logan Meyer

Highland

Kenzie Rutledge

Senior year is the most anticipated year of high school. The years of hard work will finally be celebrated and rewarded, and the next chapter of your life can begin. Traditionally, senior year begins in August and ends in May. While it is filled with fun events that honor the graduating class, it is also a time to reflect on your past and consider your future plans. There are many people—teachers, family, friends—that contribute to an individual reaching their senior year, and I have been lucky enough to be very supported throughout my high school career. Sadly, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, my classmates and I have missed out on many opportunities held during the last year of school. Common events such as prom, track, baseball, club ceremonies, and more have been cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus. Other traditional senior events such as senior tea, baccalaureate, senior trip, and graduation have been changed. I never thought that these special opportunities would be altered or even cancelled, so the reality of the disease’s impact has truly been saddening. Though the past few months have been an unexpected change of events, I am thankful for my time and those who have worked hard to do the best they can. My teachers, for instance, have made the transition from classroom to online learning a breeze, allowing everyone to still learn and receive help. Club meetings have also been held virtually so normal school life can still happen, just in a slightly different way. Luckily, the graduating class can still hold a physical graduation; however, it is not completely traditional. Seniors will still be honored for their accomplishments, receive diplomas, and have the opportunity to celebrate this young milestone. It is upsetting that the remaining months of the 2019-2020 school year were cancelled, but I am happy to be a part of the 2020 graduating class. Between my friends, family, teachers, and classmates, I would not have it any other way.

Kenzie Rutledge

Highland

Ellie TenEyck

Senior year of high school is packed with constant stress and deadlines, nonstop events and activities, unforgettable friendships and bonds, but most importantly, it is full of memories that I will hold with me for the rest of my life. Although this year went nothing like expected, my senior year was far from ruined, and I refuse to dwell on the time lost instead of focusing on the amazing time spent at school. Of course, accepting and experiencing quarantine was challenging. Yet, it allowed me the opportunity to reflect on everything the Class of 2020 was able to accomplish during our last year at Highland High School. From winning the Homecoming Spirit Stick to organizing an event and raising money in honor of one of our classmates, our class’s determination and persistence reached an ultimate high this year. We watched and participated in our last sporting events, competed at our final national, state, or district conference, and took our last high school finals. Some of our classmates worked hard to commit to colleges in order to continue their education on an athletic scholarship while others strived to attend post-secondary education on academic scholarships. We have a classmate going to serve the country, and some are serving our communities by joining the workforce. Even though the coronavirus forced the last two months of our high school career to be done virtually, the Class of 2020 did everything we could to make it a typical senior year. We may have missed out on some common senior events and rites of passage, but we didn’t know what we were missing in reality. None of us had experienced senior year before; we based our expectations on other people’s stories and perspectives. Our class still accomplished what any other grade before us had, but we did it a little differently. I believe the Class of 2020 has been made stronger because of this pandemic. Overall, it has created a realization that time spent together should be valued more than it is, and nothing is promised.

Ellie TenEyck

Highland

Lauren Frazier

2020 was supposed to be our year. Not my year, not my classmates’ year, but our year. Senior year—more specifically, the senior spring—is supposed to be the magical third act of high school when long-standing enemies and cherished friends share one final hurrah as they greet the adulthood that looms beyond graduation. It is built up not just by movies, but by our parents and friends, our closest allies, to be a time of great celebration that ties us to fellow students past and present. Little did we know, a new virus would flourish into a pandemic and sweep our celebratory rug from beneath our feet. For the class of 2020, myself included, the traditional senior festivities turned into a hollow victory.

Selfishly, I was looking forward to graduation in particular. As class valedictorian, I planned on giving a speech that would ring through the halls of Canton R-V High School for a decade, a century to come! Basketball season had gloriously come and gone and my classes (with the exception of Calculus—an awesome but frustrating challenge) were sailing along smoother than ever. All that was left was total domination of the area Quiz Bowl circuit and a few personal bests on the track! Bolstered by the giddiness that accompanies positive life change, I felt that I was on a bullet train to a successful and grand finale. The coronavirus pandemic brought my high to a grinding, abrupt, whiplash-inducing halt.

The first two weeks were the worst. I would whip myself into a lather over insignificant things (I nearly cried when the corner of a page in one of my favorite books ripped off). After the initial shock wore off, I found myself numb. A newly quiet mind gave me pause for reflection; I realized that most of my enthusiasm for traditions such as prom and the senior trip had been artificial. I felt extremely fortunate to be able to trade those rites of passage for time with a loving and supportive family. I could empathize with the sense of loss that seemed to cast its shadow across all of the high school and college seniors, but I was ready to move on.

Currently, I am working two jobs: one as a lifeguard at one of the only open pools in the area, the other as a dietary aide at a nursing home. Both require extreme precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus; both serve as a reminder that even though I am chomping at the bit to carry along with life’s great adventure, there are more serious matters at stake. College has become my light at the end of the tunnel, even though I never closed out high school with a formal goodbye. I will never forget the thirteen years I called myself a Canton Tiger, but I am ready to become a Truman State University Bulldog. Everybody I have talked to shares a similar sentiment—they’re eager to start college, start their new careers, to face the next chapter. We are all ready to move on.

This was our last chance to just be the kids from Canton; this was our moment in the sun before we part ways. We will still graduate in caps and gowns, but we have been awakened from our naïve slumber to the world around us. We have been bonded by this experience not because of the mutual ceremonial participation that marked our predecessors, but by our shared part in living through history. We shall use this pandemic not as an opportunity for resentment, but a call to embrace our unique opportunity to leave our mark on the world. We will forever and always know what it means to be a part of the graduating class of 2020.

Lauren Frazier

Canton R-V