As COVID-19 continues to ricochet throughout the world, seniors have to manage to navigate its destructive path. As with the class of 2020, nothing is certain right now, and everything is subject to change as cases continue to soar throughout the United States, let alone the world.

   “I haven’t been able to tour any campuses this year. The only campus I got to go to in person was Ball State because my older sister goes there. Almost every school is doing virtual tours now. It just sucks, because I feel like touring colleges is one of the fun things about being a senior and starting to look forward toward your future,” Jenna Sprouse (12) said.  

   One the other hand, some seniors have known which college they want to go to for a while. They never had to worry and stress about not being able to tour potential schools this year.

   “I already knew where I wanted to go after my junior year, so I didn’t feel the need to worry about touring other campuses. The only hoop I had to jump through for my applications was making sure that I had all the required classes and testing for graduation. Luckily, the school and guidance counselors have been very helpful and supportive with trying to help the entire class of 2021 succeed in these unprecedented times,” Bella Habzansky (12) said.  

   In these unprecedented times, guidance counselors and other faculty must adapt to new circumstances. Habzansky isn’t the only senior who’s appreciative of the guidance counselors’ work. 

   “It’s hard, because the class of 2021 is going through almost the same thing as the class of 2020, but it’s slightly different. We got the courtesy of not having our senior year come to an abrupt and unforeseen halt, but I feel like we never really got a senior year to begin with. They at least had homecoming and different sporting events. Even though we have sporting events, and I’ve been lucky enough that I still have a competitive season for color guard, it’s just not the same,” Lily Haro (12) said.  

   Some seniors are struggling to accept the new normal they’ve had to get used to these past two years. Others have adapted and used the situation to their advantage.

   “I did e-learning for the first semester, so now I can work full-time and save up money for college. All I had to do was work really hard for straight A’s first semester, and I was happy. It bumped up my GPA a lot and looks really good on all of my college applications. Now I’m working two jobs and working almost every day, which is a lot of stress, but I’m happy.  It’ll definitely pay off when it comes to paying to go to Denver for school,” Lauren Miranda (12) said.