Students spend twelve years of their lives in the classroom, endless hours of work and dedication with the end goal of walking the stage at Johnson Coliseum at Sam Houston and receiving their diploma. However this will not be the case for the class of 2020.

A press release from the district last week announced that the graduation ceremony set for May 22, 2020 will be cancelled due to COVID-19 and the closure of the Sam Houston Coliseum. Yesterday, the district announced that graduation will occur on May 22nd at a district facility. No specifics are available about time and place at this stage in the planning. 

“At the moment it is a shock to everyone including the officers,” senior Will Nye said. “But at the moment we are working together to find alternatives to everything to make senior year worth while.” 

Staff is remorseful towards the seniors in this time of uncertainty in what is supposed to be the best year of high school.

“Seniors, my heart grieves for you,” counselor Tricia Neumann said in a tweet. “Praying for a good solution. Love and miss you.” 

Principal Stephanie Hodgins would like the class to know that hope has not been lost for them. In a letter sent to seniors and their parents,  Hodgins assured the Class of 2020 still has the senior experience they deserve.

“There has been some confusion about whether graduation is completely canceled,” Hodgins said. “The last thing I would ever do is take senior activities away completely. Graduation is a milestone that our seniors deserve to celebrate, and we will find a way to make something work.”

Seniors are heartbroken but glad that staff and admin are working hard to find a solution to the disaster. 

“I am devastated that I won’t be able to have the traditional graduation at Sam,” senior Emma Holliday said. “But I know that at least I will get some type of ceremony to commence this milestone in my life.”

Students are taking the news with a grain of salt and coping with it the best they can during this time of chaos.

“Heartbroken but thankful for everything this district has given us,” senior Kailee Tedder said on Twitter. “Thank you for all the opportunities and memories. To all the staff, you are loved and very appreciated. To the class of 2020, I know it hurts now, but we’re all in this together…we’ll be alright.”