College Bound ...

Exactly four years ago the world was about to enter a period of unprecedented chaos with the onset of a global pandemic. People look back on that time with vastly different opinions of how things were handled now in retrospect, but the one thing all can agree on is that it was a particularly difficult challenge in the educational realm.
On top of the age-old trial-and-error experiences of growing up, learning life lessons and figuring out who they are and what they want to do with their lives, young people all of a sudden faced a whole new set of challenges without a road map to guide them. Studies and statistics are starting to indicate that many struggled to stay on track, academically if not socially and emotionally as well. Only time will tell how that impacts our society as a whole on many levels.
The News-Register’s annual “College Bound” edition is just what the name implies, addressing a topic with students either bound for college or wrapping up their post-secondary studies to get their insight on a timely topic involving education. This year we turned our attention to local students who lived through that chaotic time in American history, an era more than one of our sources referred to as simply “surreal.”
A number of students in the classes of 2020 and 2024 from Aurora, Hampton, Giltner and High Plains schools were very candid about their experiences, some even sharing how in fact their life’s path may have been altered some by COVID-19. The Class of 2020, in particular, has blank pages in their book of life that should have been filled with precious memories from their senior years. It was brutally unfair, no doubt, and terrible timing which hit that class harder than most.
What you will read in our “College Bound” stories, however, aren’t tales of doom and gloom. There is no sugar-coating how hard the pandemic pause was on these young people, but some shared that they learned from it, dealt with it as best they could, and in many cases have moved on, preferring to look forward rather than back at will likely be one of the darker episodes in their lives. Clearly some students continue on their path to regain momentum lost during that time and we hope and pray they are successful, but it is encouraging to hear tales of youthful perseverance.
“In spite of what happened, I guess I just try not to think back on it too much,” said Hampton native Lydia Dose, one of several local students who accepted our invitation to share their pandemic perspective. “I know everyone had their challenges because of it, but I am grateful I guess for all the experiences I have had in dealing with something that no one expected.”
What was a refreshing message, quite frankly, one that many citizens of all ages in our state and nation could and should take to heart.
-- Kurt Johnson