High school graduate looks back on ‘draining’ final year amid COVID

It wasn’t the year Grade 12 students expected for their final high school experience.

“Mainly I feel relieved,” said Jenna Hsu, a Grade 12 student at Campbell Collegiate in Regina. “This year has been dragged out so long because of our quint system. And just switching from being in person then online then in person then online has really made school not enjoyable this year. Normally I love going to school but it has just been really difficult this year.

“It was hard and was definitely super, super draining. I think by the end of it all, everyone’s really drained; I don’t think they have anything left to give. Online school really rips out the joy of learning. At least for me, it did not do well with my mental health and it made me unmotivated and not wanting to do schoolwork.”

Campbell will hold a number of graduation ceremonies over the course of the next few days. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Hsu and others won’t get the big celebrations they imagined when they were in Grade 9.

“It definitely changes who I am able to invite and whether or not I get to see my friends when I graduate,” Hsu said.

She said the graduations are split up between homerooms, which were decided way back when they were in Grade 9.

“Luckily I have one of my best friends in my homeroom but for those people who don’t know anyone in their homeroom or don’t feel close enough to share this big moment with the people in their class, that’s just truly awful,” Hsu said. “Not being able to graduate with your friends, it sucks.

“That’s one of the highlights of Grade 12, getting to walk across the stage with people you care about.”

She said she and her classmates missed out on a lot of things they were looking forward to due to the pandemic.

COVID forced classes to constantly switch between online and in-person learning, courses were condensed into a couple of months and many extracurriculars were cancelled.

“It just isn’t really the same without everyone in the school every day. As a Grade 12, it kind of sucks as your last year. This is supposed to be your final kickoff and you can’t even see your friends at school,” Hsu said.

“Football games, homecoming, last school dances, just eating lunch with my friends — those things were taken away from us this year.”

But Hsu, who is heading to Victoria to study theatre, says students and teachers were able to make the most out of a tough situation.

“There was nothing we could do about it. I feel like not many people complained about it; it’s out of our control and we made the most of what we could,” Hsu said.

“This year was so tough, and it was tough not only on students but for teachers and parents and everyone as the pandemic is tough for everyone. I think we really rose above it. Our graduating class is really some great people at Campbell and I think we made our way through very well and we took all the challenges and we rose above them.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick