‘It’s probably all over’: NHHS seniors talk about unknowns of final semester

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — This time of year is meant to be exciting for high school seniors. But this year, from remote learning, to picking a college, the pandemic has turned their world upside down.

“I’ve gone ahead and just accepted it and been like, ‘Yeah, you’re probably not going back.’ And that’s the reality of it unfortunately,” New Hanover High School senior Izzy Stoneback said.

Five seniors at New Hanover High School are still trying to take in that reality of potentially not going back to school this year. They didn’t know that day in March, it might be the last school day together.

“It just seemed like any other day, and I remember at the end of the day, we were like, ‘Is school going to be cancelled next week starting Monday? Or the next week?'” senior Emma Brown said. “It felt like a blur, and now it’s probably all over, which is sad.”

The end of senior year of high school is full of unknowns, but for this year’s class there are even bigger unknowns lurking than usual.

“Our class has gone through so much in the past two years with the hurricane and now with this, and it sucks we won’t have closure for that,” senior Ella Coxe said.

At the height of trying to pick a college, finish school and graduate, they were hit with the ultimate curve ball.

“I was looking at schools in Toronto, California and New York, and there were a lot of them I was seriously considering along with Chapel Hill,” senior Nicolas Messina said. “Then this all happened, and it kind of put a lot of things into perspective for me.”

These seniors had to make tough choices about college. Some had to cross top choices off their lists since they couldn’t visit.

Senior Olivia Jones likely won’t step foot onto her campus until move-in day.

“I haven’t toured my campus,” Jones said. “I’m planning on going to Appalachian State University. They have online tours, which isn’t the same, but you kind of get a feel for what you’re going into.”

But even before any of them can go off to college, another big questions looms.

“Are we going to have a graduation?” Jones said. “Most of us have been in school for 13 years, and we just want to walk across that stage.”

Despite the uncertainty, their teacher sees a blessing in disguise.

“Them going through these experiences are going to make them the amazing world changers,” NHHS English teacher Kylee Maarschalk said.

With the help of Zoom, the group of seniors was still able to finish their school yearbook remotely.

The school district has not announced its plans for graduation ceremonies yet.