Here is what Gabby Dietz should have been doing this weekend: getting ready for prom with her best girlfriends, one of whom she has known since kindergarten orientation; preparing for her senior flute recital; studying for her four Advanced Placement tests.
Instead, Dietz, 18, a senior at St. Paul’s Central High School, is spending the weekend at home with her family — just as she’s done for the past six weeks.
For Dietz and the rest of the Class of 2020, this spring has been a season of loss because of the coronavirus pandemic.
No band trips. No proms. No senior recitals. No final sports seasons. No awards ceremonies. No senior walkouts. No last hugs from favorite teachers. No graduations. No all-night grad parties. No open houses.
“It kind of all feels numb, you know — like, it’s not real,” Dietz said. “It’s, like, time isn’t passing, and we’re going to go back to school and everything. At some point, it’s really going to hit me that I can never go back — that I’m done.”
Dietz’s parents, Brian and Faith, had planned a breakfast open house at their house on June 6 — four days after her graduation at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in downtown St. Paul. “Save the Date” notices had been sent out; family members in Maryland, California, Virginia and Missouri planned to come.
Now, like everything else, those plans are on hold.
“We’ll try to do it later this summer,” Faith Dietz said. “We’re not planning anything now because we have to wait.”
ST. PAUL PLANS VIRTUAL CEREMONY
On Thursday, St. Paul Public Schools officials announced that graduations will be held online at the same date and time they had originally been planned. Seniors will receive their caps, gowns and honor cords and a school-specific Class of 2020 sign to place in their yards or windows.
Gabby Dietz said she wishes SPPS officials had held off making a decision on graduation. “I really want something in person — whether that means having a graduation in August or whatever,” she said.
A flute player in the school’s band and orchestra, she said she was especially upset to miss her senior music trip to New Orleans in March.
“I had been looking forward to it for, literally, all four years,” she said. “That was really a bummer. My friend group is basically the music seniors. We have a very tight-knit group. We were all looking forward to the trip, but also all these other events that we had planned.”
Dietz and friends bought their dresses for prom a few months ago. As soon as Dietz saw her black, poofy dress at Macy’s, she said she knew it was the one. Once social-distancing restrictions ease, she and her friend group plan to stage their “own little prom in my back yard and decorate it and everything,” she said.
Dietz plans to attend Loyola University in Chicago this fall — either in person or online. “Hopefully, by that point, things will be opened up,” she said.
JOHNSON HIGH’S ADOPT A SENIOR
Lue Yang, a senior at Johnson High School in St. Paul, has been accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.; he starts June 25.
Yang, 18, said he is sad to miss an in-person graduation. “After completing four years of high school, I think you deserve some sort of closure with friends and family and being able to walk across that stage and everyone yelling your name,” he said.
But Yang and other Johnson seniors are being celebrated in a unique program started by parent Judy Solis. The Facebook page she launched — Adopt A High School Senior 2020 (Johnson High School) — has 720 members.
“Most of these seniors won’t be able to have a graduation party, which is what a lot of seniors rely on to get the items they are going to need for college or whatever they are going to do after high school,” said Solis, the mother of senior Lorenzo Solis. “The general thought was, ‘Well, why not get them what they would have received at their graduation party if that was something that they wanted?’ ”
Solis and her son arranged for Johnson seniors to post photos and biographical information on the Facebook page; each one set up wish list on Amazon.com. Community members, staff and alumni have adopted all of the seniors who have signed up, Solis said. “Everyone has said, ‘What else can we do to help?’ It’s had a huge impact.”
Yang, who wrestled, ran cross country and participated in Junior ROTC, had specific requests related to what he will need to get ready for life as a “plebe” at the Naval Academy. Among the items on his wish list: Brooks running shoes and an ab wheel, a core-training tool.
“I can’t bring much, so I don’t have much on my list,” he said. “But it’s really nice to know that there are JHS alumni who really want to see the next generation succeed.”
SIGNS OF SUPPORT
In communities across the metro, residents are distributing “Class of 2020” signs to honor seniors. Stillwater is adding red “Pony Pride” flags to honor all students in the district, said Kristine Olson, who is co-founder of the Pony Pride Project.
Residents of Stillwater Area School District have been asked “paint the town red” during May; more than 2,500 flags have already been distributed, and another 2,500 are coming next week.
“The community is realizing what a huge effort this is for our teachers and for our students, especially our seniors,” Olson said. “Planting these flags seems a small thing, but, collectively, it creates a visual and virtual wave of Pony Pride support throughout our community. In a time when we need to maintain distance, it’s a great way to come together.”
Mayors of Afton, Stillwater and Oak Park Heights have proclaimed May as “Pony Pride Month,” and Bayport officials are expected to approve the measure on Monday.”
“Pony Pride runs deep through this community,” said Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski. “This project provides an opportunity for all of us to put a stake in the ground to show it and to share our support for kids and families.”
Said Oak Park Heights Mayor Mary McComber: “These times have been challenging for district students, teachers and staff. As they all finish off this school year, we need them to see and feel our strong community support.”
Each person who puts a flag in their yard is asked to “pin” the location on a virtual map at www.ponyprideproject.org. “It’s really amazing to see,” Olson said.
‘I STILL WANT TO CELEBRATE’
Hannah Poor, a senior at East Ridge High School, said she loves seeing all the signs of support around Woodbury.
“Everyone has been so supportive,” said Poor, 18, who serves as student-body president. “They understand this is a really hard time, and they’re sorry it’s this way. The administration has been really understanding. As much as it stinks, it’s been as good as it can be.”
As of Friday, no decision had been made regarding the East Ridge graduation; the ceremony was originally scheduled for June 7.
“I’ll still be sending out graduation announcements, because even though there might not be a formal ceremony, I’m still graduating,” said Poor, who will be attending the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota this fall. “I still want to celebrate the fact that I made it here — I’m graduating, and I’m moving on to college, and it’s this great thing and this great time in my life that I want to still recognize even if it’s in smaller ways.”
She’s already missed prom. Her maroon one-shoulder formal gown hangs in her closet. “We were going to get dressed up, eat dinner and then go to prom,” she said.
She has been staying in touch with friends via text messages, Snapchat, FaceTime and video games. “I have a friend who is super-artsy, and we painted together over FaceTime,” Poor said. “But it’s hard to get that, like, level of connection that you get when you’re in person.”
She hopes South Washington County school district officials opt to postpone graduation until later this summer.
“The most important thing to me is having an in-person ceremony,” she said. “They have already ordered caps and gowns. … The only thing they’d have to do is get chairs and the stage into the gym and host it. It’s not like we have to rent a space or there are other expenses. I think it’s really important to have that closure.”