As soon as he entered the class, senior Asiful Huq was ready to take in the day’s lesson. His notebook was open on a new page and his hand firmly grasped his pencil.
But by the end of the lecture, he was lost, staring at the screen.
And there was nothing he could do but close Zoom.
When COVID hit, students were forced to lock their doors and stay home for months. And even when everyone was finally able to get out again, the world had changed so much, including schools.
Upon the start of the 2020-2021 school year, Creek students who chose to return for on-campus learning were told to wear face masks and stay six feet apart inside their desk shields. And for online students, Zoom classes were far from the norm.
Despite calls to get back to ‘business as usual,’ for many students, the next nine months felt like solitary confinement.
For those students entering their freshman year in 2020-2021, their transition to high school was defined by COVID. Those same students, including Huq, are now seniors.
“COVID affected me in various ways,” Huq said.” “It felt like I didn’t learn as much as I was supposed to since having to do online work and do Zoom didn’t feel like school and altered my brain chemistry, but it didn’t stop me from getting better to stay ahead.”
Adapting to high school in general is a learning curve, let alone doing so amidst a pandemic.
“Even when school felt like prison, I still needed to make sure I passed I got through the year because I needed to make my choir teacher Mr. Bruce proud and show him that I am qualified for chorale,” senior Victor Lopez said.
When times were tough, Lopez still had a goal and pushed through to achieve it. The same was true for senior Jeremiah Lucas.
“So much has changed for athletics. Having to wear a mask and distance ourselves from teammates to events felt weird but still being able to talk to friends got me through it,” Lucas said.
Huq, Lopez and Lucas may have begun their high school journey under unusual circumstances, but all three now have something new to look forward to: graduation this June.
