Besides the pandemic, the Class of 2021 has also lived through a number of recent historical events the past year, including a presidential election and movements fighting for change. How have all these events shaped you, and what gives you hope for the future?
As a person of color these movements of fighting for change have meant the world to me. I’m the co-founder of the first ever students of color union at my school and one of the focal points of this year was urging our school and school district to have courageous conversations about race. It’s important as a community that we value cultures and identity that is reflective upon our educational system. Students of color matter and we need to show that they matter within the literature, history, content, and language within their educational curriculum. All these events have shaped courage and grit within me as I hope to continue battling and tackling racism at all levels of education and societal systems. And most importantly it’s the people who stand for what’s right and speak out for what is wrong that gives me hope. The hope that we can no longer stand silent in detrimental times of injustice and inequality. We are here, we matter yesterday, today and tomorrow.
School districts began the school year in remote-only learning, then transitioned to hybrid instruction and for some students, even had full-time instruction again. What shook you and what gave you strength to push through during this challenging final year of K-12 schooling?
What shocked me the most was how fast our school / school district was transitioning from remote learning, then to hybrid. One day you’re attending online school in your pajamas and the next you’re putting on jeans and a shirt with a mask on to school. I along with many other students wanted to be back to school as soon as possible, for some people like me school is home, Hela is home. I hated not being able to see my peers, teachers, and administration that I considered family. It felt isolating, discouraging and put me in a vulnerable position I never imagined I would be in. But being able to know a district was going to take the needed safety precautions to ensure students of a safe environment gave me hope in my school and in my community. Community was the big strength that pushed me through this challenging final school year. Knowing I had a community that supported me, a community that loved me, and a community that ensured the safety of the people I cared about was what got me through these difficult times.