Seniors have had their year turned upside down as many question if any of the traditional celebrations will even happen. 

Will they get their senior prom? Will they be able to walk across the stage for a typical graduation ceremony in May?

Some seniors, such as Class President Anna Grisel, question if they’ll be able to make graduation if it’s moved to a different date.

“I’m definitely concerned that it won’t happen,” Grisel said. “Or that it will be moved to a different date, and I won’t be able to make it or something because of previous arrangements.”

Other seniors have various worries. Many personal plans have been canceled as everyone has stayed inside for more than a month. Some are concerned about college and moving away. That’s why senior Peter Nguyen suggests distancing yourself from national or world wide news.

“For anyone that’s freaking out, just keep your eyes off the news unless it truly affects you in your area like the local news,” Nguyen said. “But I wouldn’t stare at websites talking about death totals. That stuff can bring you down really fast and you wouldn’t want that.”    

Rider counselor Dr. Wendy Risner also advised that students take breaks from the news.

 “I think we can kind of get obsessed with that whether that’s online or watching the news,” Risner said. “We need to make sure we’re taking healthy breaks from that and that we’re just not consuming ourselves with Covid-19.”

All seniors’ normal school year has ended early, as the governor recently announced the closing of school buildings for the rest of the 2019-20 year. 

“I’m really sad, at first I was really upset, I still am,” Nguyen said. “I’m missing out on a lot of things that you don’t normally want to go through.”

To help students cope, Risner and other Rider counselors are still offering personal counseling. Risner also mentioned a local place called Starry Counseling which is offering free online counseling sessions. Interested students can reach Starry Counseling at 940-386-9546.