How The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Affecting The Class of 2020

by Jennifer Ndahayo

The Covid-19​ pandemic has affected people from all walks of life, including high school and university students who were set to graduate in 2020. Many schools were forced to cancel or postpone ceremonies, while others opted to wait until nearer the time to make a decision. Due to these drastic changes, nearly one in five students has changed their mind or are uncertain about going to university this fall. So I asked some of our graduates whether they were still planning to go to university in September or wait another year, and here is what they said: 

"I'm still not sure if I’m going overseas to study, depends on whether I'll be able to get the Visa. I will probably go either in September or January, but for now I really don't know what will happen next."- Michael Stafeev, Senior 2

"I had already decided to take a year off even before the virus." - Tung Ngo, Senior 3

"It's really hard with quarantine... From one point of view I'm happy that I have more free time at home. I can spend more time with my family and also started doing my long forgotten hobbies that I never had time for before. On the other hand, realizing that I have spent my last school days at home instead of spending them with my friends is very upsetting." - Vitaly Stolyarchuk, Senior 2

"By now, we have all been in quarantine for more than two months. To be honest, I enjoyed only the first 4 days of quarantine because I didn’t have to go to school, could stay up late, play games, and do things I could do during holidays. However, now everything is just boring. I miss my friends, teachers, the atmosphere of school, etc. Quarantine might even cancel our graduation, which is very sad for me and my classmates who are graduating." - Nguyen Viet Hoang, Senior 3

Our graduates and teachers decided to take part in the GraduateTEDTalk (a TED LLC. initiative) and share together with the world their thoughts and wishes with the graduating class. Here are some of the videos!

From Mr David Jordan

From Nguyen Viet Hoang

From Jennifer Ndahayo

From Daniil Kochanov

From Michael Stafeev

From Vitaly Stolyarchuk