BY SYDNEY HOOVER
Keagan Shockley said she was excited to have a week off before her last nine weeks of senior year as she left for spring break.
Now, she said she would have savored the day a bit more, had she known it would be her last day at Eudora High School.
“I was honestly taken aback because you don’t really think about not ever walking into school again, especially as a senior,” Shockley said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Gov. Laura Kelly announced Tuesday K-12 schools would close for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year due to the coronavirus, which has now reached 21 cases in Kansas.
The decision left high school seniors confused and uncertain about the future of the many “lasts” they looked forward to, from spring sports to prom to celebrating their last day with their teachers and classmates.
‘It’s just hard to comprehend’
Emily Howard said she was disappointed to hear her trip to Australia with a group from the high school had been canceled as the World Health Organization announced a global pandemic. She said opening her laptop Wednesday to see all her plans over the next two months that wouldn’t end up happening was even worse.
“It’s just hard to comprehend that I won’t ever go back and sit in my classes again,” Howard said.
Others described their initial reaction to the governor’s announcement Tuesday evening as surprise and disbelief. Some said they felt the state government had acted too quickly, as cases of the coronavirus are much lower in Kansas than in other parts of the country.
Addie Dahl said she didn’t believe her dad when he told her the news. She said she told him it wasn’t cool to mess with her like that until she realized he was serious.
“The little moments you get in class of just joking around with your teachers or messing around with your friends in class,” Dahl said. “I’m going to miss that. Those last few weeks where nothing feels real but in a good way, like it’s an ‘80s movie, I’m not going to be able to experience that.”
Howard said it was hard to grasp because school was all she and her classmates had known for 12 years. They always went to break and then went back to school, she said.
And for others, few words could explain the reaction to the announcement.
“This really sucks,” Josh Ziesenis said.
‘It’s just been ripped from us’
In addition to losing school days, school events like prom and potentially a graduation ceremony, several seniors said they were sad to lose their senior season on their teams and their final performances with the band or choir.
Tanya Miller and Megan Paulsen both played on the girls’ soccer team at Eudora High School. Miller said she was looking forward to her first season on the varsity team. She said she wanted to have the best season possible to remember her uncle, who died last year and loved watching her games.
Paulsen said she couldn’t bring herself to put away her jerseys and bag.
“It’s really crazy to think even though I have them, I’m never going to be able to wear them again,” Paulsen said.
Dahl said she was disappointed to hear band and choir competitions across the state had been canceled before schools even closed. She said she felt like all the work she and her classmates had put in to rehearsing for the band competitions had been ripped away from them.
Outside of activities, others said the uncertainty of it all left them wondering what to do about other aspects of their senior year. Howard said she had planned to order graduation invitations over spring break.
Now, she said she can’t, because she doesn’t know when graduation will be.
‘The best four years of high school ever’
Shockley said despite the time she has lost in the next nine weeks, she’s thankful for the people she met and the experiences she did get at Eudora High School.
“I guess all I can say is I thank every single person in the building. I had the best four years of high school ever,” Shockley said. “The community and the whole school has been so great.”
The seniors agreed it was the atmosphere and community of the high school that made it special, something Ziesenis wished he had recognized sooner. He said it’s hard to grasp that he may never see some of his classmates again.
Although the details of a commencement ceremony are still unknown, the class of 2020 will soon move on to college, careers and other plans after high school. But they agreed they would never forget the support they received during their time at Eudora High School and in USD 491.
“Every single person when you walked into that building cared about you I think. And that’s really special,” Howard said.
Reach reporter Sydney Hoover at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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