As a fifth-grader, April Stephenson envisioned a bright future for herself, one in which she shined on the volleyball court at Glynn Academy, graduated high school and embarked on a career as a veterinarian.
The graduating senior posing for photos in her cap and gown Wednesday in front of Oglethorpe Point Elementary School, however, looked back on a different high school experience than what her younger self had predicted.
“I’m going to (the University of) Alabama … and I’m going to study criminology and criminal justice,” she shared with infectious excitement. “And I didn’t play volleyball in high school.”
Stephenson was one of many local high school seniors who attended OPES in fifth grade and who were celebrated at an event Wednesday. Parents and teachers stood outside the school’s front door and cheered on seniors as they drove through.
“Normally, the kids that went to Oglethorpe in fifth grade come back in their caps and gowns and they walk the hallways,” said Lisa Sasser, a parent and organizer of the event. “They parade up and down the halls and a lot of the kids come out, and clearly that was not possible this year.”
In lieu of the typical celebration, the school organized the outdoor, space-friendly event.
Some seniors brought their parents or friends along, and a few arrived wearing their caps and gowns for the photo opportunity with former teachers.
“This is honestly the best way they could have done it,” Stephenson said. “It’s really sad that I’m not able to walk through all the halls of where I went (to school), but getting to see all my teachers and come out front and take pictures, I love it.”
The seniors each received gift bags that included the letters they wrote to themselves in fifth grade. It’s long been a tradition at OPES, and at other schools, for fifth-graders to write letters to their senior selves predicting what they’ll do in high school and what their plans beyond graduation will be.
“Getting to read what I wanted to do, compared to what I actually want to do now, is just crazy,” Stephenson said.
Graduating seniors this year have had to forego many of the traditional celebrations because of social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. High school commencement events have been pushed back to July, and their final school year is ending quietly without much of the usual fanfare.
Many in the community, though, are finding new ways to offer congratulations to the Class of 2020.
“This is as special to us as is it to them,” said Lori Nagem, a retired educator who taught this year’s seniors years ago, when they were fifth-graders trying to predict their futures.
– By LAUREN MCDONALD [email protected], The Brunswick News, May 14, 2020.
Photo by Bobby Haven of The Brunswick News
Cindy Stephenson takes a picture of her daughter, Glynn Academy senior April Stephenson, with some of the teachers who taught her at Oglethorpe Point Elementary School on May 13. The school traditionally honors all seniors who went to OPES at the end of the school year, but had to bring the celebration outside this year due to schools closed because of the coronavirus.