With all the hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most difficult for Garland ISD’s graduating seniors has been missing out on activities that they had looked forward to for years. They have missed prom, senior trips, last goodbyes at school to both friends and teachers and more. According to the Garland ISD website, graduation ceremonies for each school are currently scheduled for June with a backup date in July if necessary. (See below.)
As disappointing as the end of their year has been, the seniors I visited with have met the changes with a positive approach. They are also wise beyond their years and very well-spoken.
Nisha Koshy, a North Garland High School senior, was sure that her senior year was going to be filled with fun events like prom and graduation and that she would take away great memories of enjoying those activities with her friends.
“But that is not how it went,” she said. “I’m sad about it because I was really looking forward to a fun ending for my high school years.”
Koshy said that she did learn some important lessons because of the unexpected changes.
“This opened my eyes to how we take things for granted and also how we live our lives not knowing that out of nowhere something can just ruin what we were expecting,” Koshy said. “So, we can always have high expectations for our lives, but we don’t know what life will throw at us.”
She added that it is important to live life in the moment. Koshy will attend Texas A&M in the fall to study Allied Health. She hopes to become a physician assistant and specialize in obstetrics and gynecology.
Sachse High School senior Hope Miller said that reality hit her hard because she watched her older brother enjoy his senior year and she was looking forward to the same activities he had enjoyed.
“It bummed me out and discouraged me a little bit,” she said. “But I’m trying to make the best of it.”
Missing her senior prom was tough. She had purchased her dress in January and was looking forward to the event. Not knowing how graduation will be is difficult, too. The possibility of missing graduation hurts the most.
“We’ve all worked so hard to get to that,” Miller said.
She enjoyed her high school career and was involved in extra-curricular activities including FFA where she won several awards and sold her pig for more than $4,000.
Miller said that she has learned some important things from the pandemic.
“You have to take the real things into consideration, make the best of it and not take things for granted,” Miller said.
She will attend Texas A&M to study Agriculture Education and Communication. She’ll minor in livestock genetics.
Reagan Warren, a Rowlett High School senior, wishes that she had not been rushing so much during the weeks before spring break.
“Instead of enjoying the time that I was in school, I was rushing in and out, not stopping to enjoy things and taking it for granted that I was there at school,” Warren said. “I regret not slowing down.”
Even though she wishes she had taken her time a little more while she was going to school every day, she’s sure that everything is the way it should be.
“I know that everything is eventually going to work for my good…Things happen the way they happen and we have to move forward,” Warren said.
Her Christian faith influences how she approaches everything. Her life verse is Romans 8:28:
“All things work together for good for those who love the Lord who are called according to His purpose.”
“That’s what I’ve been focusing on through this and through the whole year,” Warren said.
She’s deciding between a couple of universities and thinks she’ll major in law.
Graduation schedule
These are the planned graduation dates for the Class of 2020, along with backup dates if necessary
Memorial Pathway Academy – 6/18/20 or 7/9/20 – 1 p.m.
Sachse High School – 6/18/20 or 7/9/20 – 5 p.m.
South Garland High School – 6/19/20 or 7/10/20 – 9 a.m.
Rowlett High School – 6/19/20 or 7/10/20 – 1 p.m.
Lakeview Centennial High School – 6/19/20 or 7/10/20 – 5 p.m.
Naaman Forest High School – 6/20/20 or 7/11/20 – 9 a.m.
Garland High School – 6/20/20 or 7/11/20 – 1 p.m.
North Garland High School – 6/20/20 or 7/11/20 – 5 p.m.
Summer Graduation – 8/06/2020 – 7 p.m.