The East End Class of 2020 Says A Virtual Farewell To High School

These are difficult days for everyone — but for members of the high school graduating Class of 2020, the shutdowns and stay-at-home orders since mid-March have been particularly difficult. Young people who should be celebrating the end of one chapter and the beginning of another are instead left wondering what the near-term future holds.

In a cruel twist of irony, if you do the math, you quickly realize that the students of the Class of 2020 were born in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001. Who could have guessed that the babies conceived back in those dark days would come of age in the midst of another earth-shattering global event — a worldwide pandemic?

Here are the perspectives of five East End seniors who have seen their high school careers cut short by COVID-19:

In late April, Sag Harbor’s Yanni Bitis was expecting to be on the Pierson High School stage, starring as Bobby Strong, the lead role in the musical “Urinetown.”

Instead, like every other student on the East End, on opening night, Yanni found himself isolated at home, finishing his senior year online in an upside-down world that brought a truncated and abrupt end to his school career.

“We started rehearsals in mid-February and were going until March 11 when everything got canceled, and that was the last day of school,” recalled Yanni. “We thought we’d go back April 1 — we said, ‘It’s just two weeks — we can catch up.’ Then it was April 15 … then it was moved to May 15.”

At that point, it was clear to Yanni and his fellow cast members that the show would not go on, despite the fact they had even toyed with the idea of rehearsing online via Zoom.

“As time went on, we realized we couldn’t put on a musical from our bedrooms,” he said.

While missing out on the final theatrical production of his high school career is a major disappointment for Yanni, who, come fall, will be a performance studies major at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, there are a whole host of other traditions and celebrations that he and his classmates won’t be able to enjoy this year.

“It’s tough. The things I’ll miss is not having a prom, senior skip day, senior pranks and college decision day, where we all wear our college sweatshirts,” Yanni said.

But it’s not just the abrupt end to high school that is a source of disappointment for seniors like Yanni; there are also considerable worries about how this pandemic will affect the start of college careers. Will it delay the beginning of the semester? Will classes have to be taught online-only in the fall? Will students be expected to pay full tuition for online courses?

Already, campus visits for accepted students and summer orientation sessions have been canceled, making things particularly difficult for seniors who may not yet have made their final college decision. For that reason, a number of universities have extended the decision day deadline to June 1, instead of sticking with the traditional May 1 date.

Yanni is fortunate in that he had already decided on NYU when the shutdown began. Though he is making new college friends on Instagram, what’s less certain is whom his roommate will be this fall.

“I will be living in a dorm,” Yanni said. “NYU prides themselves on being global, and they pick your roommate for you from a different geographic area. I’ll likely have someone from a completely different culture.”

But, come September, even if classes are held in person, he wonders if international students will be permitted to begin their studies on the NYU campus. It’s just one of several issues that weigh heavily on the minds of students like Yanni.

“I think we’re all just dealing with it together,” he said of his classmates. “The last day of high school was a random Wednesday in March. But we’re all coming together and talking to each other. It’s stressful going into college and we didn’t get to finish our senior year, but we’re hanging in there and handling it.”

For Halle Dixon, 17, a senior at Westhampton Beach High School, the online learning experience isn’t one that she finds particularly inspiring — especially with four Advanced Placement (AP) classes and a pair of sisters at home to contend with.

“I’m not in the environment to learn best. I have siblings, and there are distractions,” Halle said. “I usually do best when I’m in a classroom and have a teacher there.”

Though Halle is melancholy about the abrupt end to senior year and the fact she won’t get to say goodbye to teachers and those classmates she doesn’t see outside of school, her biggest disappointment is not being able to participate in her favorite activity outside of the classroom.

“I’m part of the junior ambulance program at Westhampton Beach,” she explained. “I started this year, and seniors can go on calls with paramedics. I did it one day a week and went to meetings on Sundays. I loved it so much, I started going twice a week.”

Then on Friday, March 13, a day that Halle was scheduled to ride along with the ambulance crew, the department put out a notice that due to COVID-19 restrictions, the program was being suspended until further notice

“I loved that program. You could ride with a friend, so my friend and I would go there after school, watch Netflix and wait for a call,” she said.

Even prior to the March 13 rule change, Halle was told that if calls for patients with COVID-19-like symptoms began coming into the dispatch center, none of the students would be allowed to ride along on those calls. But rather than being a deterrent, the current pandemic has helped point Halle in the direction of her future, including her decision to head off to the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the fall.

“Even before this, I was interested in the medical field,” Halle said. “After this, I have learned how important it is, so I am going to UConn for nursing.

“This solidified my decision,” she added. “When I saw what was happening, it wasn’t a matter of, ‘I don’t want to do that,’ but rather, ‘How can I help?’”

Halle’s interest in UConn began when she was a high school freshman and visited the campus on a college tour with her older sister, Taylor, who’s now a junior at Cornell University and finishing her spring semester at home.

“I was lucky, as soon as I stepped foot on that campus, I knew I wanted to be there,” said Halle, who, prior to the shutdown, was able to shadow a UConn student as part of the university’s “Husky-for-a-Day” program for accepted students. “That solidified it. I have friends who are in the situation where they haven’t visited campus and tours were shut down. They have to make the decision without seeing it.”

Though she loves UConn and is certain about majoring in nursing, Halle is still nervous about how fall semester will take place.

“UConn is saying all the summer stuff is online,” she said. “They also came out with a statement saying as of right now, all classes are also online for fall semester, but they’re deciding for sure on June 30.

“I’m a very optimistic person. Even though they said that, I’m hopeful,” she added. “I couldn’t even imagine how online school is going to work. I can’t imagine how I could start college that way.”

But for now, Halle is hoping for the best and having some fun with her friends by meeting up at the beach and staying 6 feet apart to watch the sunset.

“This isn’t sustainable,” she said. “Eventually, we’ll have to get out of this.”

A couple Mondays ago, Julia Heming, a senior at Hampton Bays High School, went back to school at 9 a.m. to empty out her locker.

“Because I don’t think I’m going back,” said Julia who, in March, had only brought home enough work for the two weeks she expected to be out.

That, of course, soon changed.

Making the locker run scene even more stark was the fact that Julia, who prearranged the visit with School Superintendent Lars Clemensen, found herself virtually alone in the hallways.

“It was very eerie walking around the school. Most of the lights were off and pretty much no one else was in the building,” she said. “It felt like I was saying goodbye to high school.”

Of course, there were still a lot of senior traditions to look forward to, nearly all of which are not going to happen now. While it’s something of a disappointment, Julia remains pragmatic about the end of her high school years.

“I’ve recognized this year that I don’t fit in at Hampton Bays, and for a long time, I’ve dreaded going to school and interacting with other teenagers,” Julia said. “It’s a tremendous relief. I would love to be able to go out and work at Buckley’s [Inn Between] and interact with people, but I’m kind of OK with not going to school every day.”

Part of Julia’s lack of sentimentality may have to do with the fact that she is already looking ahead to Stony Brook University, where she will be a freshman journalism major come fall.

“Since my 18th birthday in January, I’ve had a running countdown until I can move into Stony Brook and be done,” said Julia, who found a roommate on Instagram and even had an opportunity to meet her at a journalism preview day at the university.

“It was two weeks before quarantine,” Julia said. “She lives in Monroe County. We met and had lunch and stayed in touch. We talk every day now. She quickly became one of my closest friends and it gives me something to look forward to.”

“I’m excited,” she added. “I know people are worried about colleges being open in the fall, but I’m not going that far and I know I can at least drive there if I need to.”

Julia finds that being fluent in social media is a tremendous asset to people her age during this time of pandemic and it has helped keep her connected with friends while in isolation.

“We’re used to meeting and talking online,” Julia said. “And even though I’m halfway out the door, there are still things I was looking forward to. I bought a prom dress, I have a date — he’s a family friend from Stony Brook — and we were excited to go. Though no one’s sure if it’ll happen.”

As a senior at Bridgehampton School, Julian Cheng is a member of perhaps the smallest graduating class on the South Fork.

“We have 14 in our class,” said Julian, who attended Hayground School before moving over to Bridgehampton School his freshman year.

“I liked coming from Hayground because it’s really small,” Julian said. “At the time, I didn’t realize Bridgehampton was that small, and I appreciate the tight-knit community. The individual teacher time is really amazing. In some classes, I have two other students, and that enables us to work on all our strengths the best.”

While Julian said he’s going to miss making final memories with his friends in these last few months before they all head off to their respective futures, he admits that he’s not all that disappointed about missing out on end of year festivities.

“I’m a little unsentimental. I like going to prom, but I’m not too bummed out about missing it, and I think my parents are more upset about graduation than me” he said. “For the most part, I feel like I’m missing out on quality time with my friends. But I’m really ready to move on to a bigger world and experience more things.

“This is not how I imagined it happening. It’s not the optimal way to do it.”

Julian added that his major regret is missing the two robotics competitions that Bridgehampton School was expected to compete in this spring, but were cancelled — one was in Orlando and the other at Hofstra University.

“That’s probably one of the bigger disappointments,” he said. “I’m sad about that because I love robotics.”

It turns out that Julian’s passion for robotics is leading him to the next chapter of his life. In the fall, he plans to study mechanical engineering at the City College of New York in upper Manhattan. His family has an apartment nearby, so Julian already knows where he’ll be living. Whether classes begin as scheduled in the fall, however, remains to be seen.

“I’m really not sure how this is going to affect that,” said Julian, referring to COVID-19.

In the meantime, he’s doing his best to plan for his four AP exams, which are all online this year, in statistics, language and literature, government and environmental science.

“It’s stressful and a little sketchy taking them online,” Julian said. “I think in the face of this uncertain time, the Bridgehampton staff has been really great, just adapting to the situation and with their outreach.

“I feel very lucky to be part of this community.”

Kelly Seitz may not be attending classes in person these days at East Hampton High School, but she’s up early and on her computer every morning by 8:40 a.m., ready to start her online day.

“It gets me up at a scheduled time,” said Kelly, who appreciates the routine.

Of all the end of year disappointments, Kelly says graduation, which is likely happening, though not in the traditional way, was the one her mother was most looking forward to.

“That’s what she’s been waiting for since I was born,” Kelly said. “I’m more sad about March Madness, senior banquet, senior skip day and our last band concert, because you can’t recreate that — and the band trip — we were supposed to go to Six Flags and see West Side Story on Broadway.”

Like many students, Kelly saw the initial two-week school shutdown in March as a mini-vacation and a chance to hang out with friends. But when it was announced that school would be online for the rest of the year, reality set in that high school was essentially over.

“I’m close with a good amount of people and we’re FaceTiming and I’m positive I’m going to see them when this is over,” Kelly said. “But I know somewhere, an effort won’t be made. That’s making me kind of sad. My grade is super tightly knit.

“There are all these people on Tik Tok making emotional videos about the class of 2020 being robbed,” she added. “Some of those made me emotional.”

But the biggest disappointment for Kelly, who trains in ballet and other dance styles at Studio 3 in Bridgehampton, has been her inability to take part in her favorite after-school activity with friends from all over the South Fork. Traditionally, Studio 3’s spring show is an opportunity for seniors in the company to showcase their talents with a special dance all their own. But this year, the troupe’s two seniors —Kelly and Pierson’s Mya Davis — won’t get their moment to shine on stage.

“To be honest, the dance thing is kind of bittersweet,” Kelly admitted. “We miss it so much, and if the show goes on in September instead, we won’t be in the state. I’ve lost my motivation to do the online classes. Not knowing what is going to happen with it makes it hard to dance.”

So now, Kelly is looking ahead and across Long Island Sound to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she will begin her freshman year this fall. It’s the same college Dr. Anthony Fauci went to, she notes, and one she decided on in late 2019.

“More, now than ever, I’m happy I did early decision,” said Kelly. “I have a friend pulling out her hair trying to decide between two schools, and she hasn’t seen either of them.”

For now, the more immediate question is the summer job. Lots of students on the East End need to earn money for college or the next phase of their lives and the big question is, will the work be returning in the coming months?

“Nobody knows what’s going on at my job,” said Kelly, a camp counselor at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton. “My mom predicts they’ll open, but maybe it will be a shorter day. All these parents have been trapped in their houses. Now the club is open and you can play golf, and if people are golfing, she has an inkling their kids will be there, too.”