Seniors Stalled
Katy McWhorter was looking forward to her role as “Sideburns Lady” in the school musical.
Sidney Shemanski had already shelled out $500 for her prom dress; so had many of her friends.
Vito Pilosi was eager to do all the things his older friends had done during their senior years in high school — especially Senior Skip Day.
Ashley Kennedy was excited to complete a life-long dream: walk up to the stage to receive her diploma at graduation.
And Vincent Pellegrino would have been satisfied to simply enjoy the steady, predictable beat of day-to-day life.
It is growing more likely with each passing day that these Butler County high school seniors will not get to do any of it.
The coronavirus pandemic has altered and upended every part of existence, from the way people work and play to even the way in which people interact.
For high school seniors — 17- and 18-year-old young adults — the break in routine has been felt even more deeply.
“I just think senior year is the most important year of your life,” said Ashley, a senior at Butler Area High School. “There are so many first-lasts. Spring is so special with sports and prom and graduation, and to lose all of that is really sad. Not being able to have a normal year is pretty heartbreaking.”
These young people are trying their best to mitigate the loss.
They are holding out hope that these rites of passage will be saved at the 11th hour, that soon they will be able to be with their friends again, play sports together again, make lasting memories again.
But even the most optimistic are losing hope.
“It's no fun, that's for sure,” said Butler senior Anna Baxter, who is also a standout hurdler for the Golden Tornado girls track and field team. “Teachers, parents and my peers are like, 'It's OK to be positive. There's always a chance.' But it's looking like those things won't happen, those things we've wanted for so long, the fun stuff that happens at the end of your senior year.”
Seniors are taking online classes, chatting with friends on social media and picking up new hobbies.
Anything to cut through the boredom and feel normal again.They hope it's not in vain.What they've lostFor many seniors, prom, graduation and sports were like the sun rising and setting each day.A given. An unassailable right. Something that could never be taken from them.Until COVID-19 hit, spread and began tearing down those certainties of life one by one.A new reality elbowed and nudged its way into their consciousness and established a scary, altered state of normal.“The world just stopped on March 13,” said Slippery Rock senior Nate Gill.That was the last day of school at Slippery Rock and the first day Nate realized things would never be the same.“It stinks,” Nate said. “There's no way we could have expected this.”Mars senior class president Brooke Dean certainly didn't, either.“Not even a month ago did we think anything like this could happen,” she said. “It's sad and startling how quickly things changed.”Seniors expect things to get worse.High schools in Butler County have not formally canceled prom or graduation and the PIAA, the state's governing athletic body, has yet to pull the plug on the spring sports seasons.Seniors, though, are finding it difficult to not speak of these things in the past tense.“It's definitely heartbreaking to say the least,” said Mars Area High School senior Bella Pelaia. “Prom and graduation and your senior year in sports are things you look forward to your whole life and you only get one shot at it. They were the things we were all looking forward to.”Gage Neal, a senior at Moniteau High School, is also feeling the sobering sting of loss.He was looking forward to a Moniteau tradition of seniors driving their tractors to school late in the school year.While he doesn't drive one himself, many of his friends do.“It is something to see, all those green John Deeres rolling up,” he said.A baseball player, Gage has all but resigned himself to the reality that he won't wear a Warrior uniform again.“I've been playing since my freshman year and we were coming off two nice seasons, two winning seasons.” Gage said. “We were expecting another good one.“I'm trying to hold on to a little hope,” he added. “But every day it's fading.”Staying positive has become the ultimate challenge.Brooke is trying hard to keep her spirits up as she pens a message to her classmates that will appear in the yearbook.“I'm just trying to convey optimism and for everyone to do the best they can in the face of adversity,” Brooke said. “We can reflect on the past four years and share the memories we had like going to football games and hanging out with friends and all of those things, to see things in a positive light and not focus on what we've lost.”Amid the crumbling of the norms around them, seniors are finding solace in things they have perhaps taken for granted in the past.What they've gained
Sidney has noticed that the unceasing march of time has slowed.A three-sport athlete at Freeport High School, Sidney was constantly on the go. Now she has nothing to go to.“We're not used to staying home,” she said. “We're used to going, going and going. It's hard to adjust, honestly.”But some, like Brooke, have found this new meandering of day-to-day life refreshing.“The whole coronavirus in general, I think, has sent a message to take it slow,” Brooke said. “Things were moving so fast before. Maybe we were missing out.”Ashley has also marveled at how the frenetic pace of normal life has screeched to a halt.A dancer, Ashley was always moving.She'd travel to the Elite Dance by Damian Studio five times a week train and competed often.Now she has time to take a breath.“And catch up on a lot of sleep,” she said, laughing.She has a twin brother, Tyler, who helps with the loneliness. She also participates in online challenges that have popped up on social media.“Life has slowed down,” she said. “And it's kinda nice.”Each day is more about family now for many seniors.Bella considers herself lucky.She has a younger sister, Katelyn, with whom she has a tight bond, and parents she enjoys spending time with.“Honestly, for me, the one thing positive out of all of this is I can spend more time with my family and hang out with them,” she said. “My sister has asthma and we are trying the best to keep her safe.”Katy, a senior at Slippery Rock, will miss out on appearing in the school musical, “The Wedding Singer.” She has taken on an important role in the household.With both her parents working from home, Katy has been caring for her brothers, 9-year-old Aiden and 4-year-old Anderson.“They are very rambunctious,” Katy said, laughing. “There's a struggle there.”Brooke has her 21-year-old sister, Brittany, home from Penn State to keep her company.“We go out on a bunch of walks,” Brooke said. “Walking is the new family activity. And baking. We're baking a lot.”Another struggle is finding ways to pass the time while stuck at home.Marking timeVito spent hours organizing his extensive baseball and football card collection.He also cleaned and organized the family's garage.“I keep myself busy,” Vito said. “You have to to keep yourself sane and your brain working.”Freeport senior Lauren Lampus is learning how to embroider.And Nate has decided to grow a green thumb.“I'm going to start gardening,” Nate said. “I already have a section ready. I'm getting ... a rotortiller, and going to get started.”Bella is using the time to get in the best shape of her life, joking that it's almost as if she is a prisoner getting buff while marking time.“I'm making the most of it,” she said. “I'm working out like crazy. I've been working out non-stop.”Gage has grabbed his fishing pole to hit local creeks, streams and ponds.Anything to get outside and anything to take his mind off the pandemic.And there's always an old standby when it comes to killing time. Netflix and Chill.The documentary “Tiger King” has been a runaway favorite. It's just as crazy as the times seniors find themselves in, they say.“If you haven't watched it yet, you have to,” Nate said, giving his critique. “It's insane.”This is part one of a series on how high school seniors are coping with the coronavirus pandemic.
