Seniors will remember the road back home

June 12, 2020

Soaring above a global crisis

The world changed in March – and one group uniquely affected was the high school graduating Class of 2020. In a moment’s notice, it seemed, Catholic high schools closed their physical campuses as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus, sending thousands of students home to begin online classes.

For the seniors of the 22 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the final two months of their high school lives were turned upside down. But the amazing thing is how God worked quietly through this crisis. Over the next several pages, see how the Quarantine Class of 2020 used the support of their parents, teachers and faith to shine despite difficult circumstances. The Clarion Herald asked seniors to reflect on how they used their time of quarantine and handled the challenges of a global pandemic during one of the milestone moments of their lives.

Get ready to be inspired!

Morgan Spizale, Archbishop Chapelle High

The Archbishop Chapelle Class of 2020 motto is “Chase your dreams, but always know the road that’ll lead you home again.”

It is in these times that I genuinely cannot wait until the day that I get to take the road back to my second home. Chapelle has never seemed so far away yet so close to me, all at the same time.

Attending a school such as Chapelle, where I had the opportunity to be so involved and had such close-knit student/teacher relationships, I found it extremely tough to adjust to the new way I had to learn. Distance learning was a challenge every day. That was because I not only had to face a new level of independence in my work but also because I was no longer greeted by warm faces, joyful laughs and eager minds when I walked into the doors of Chapelle.

I missed our bright pictures in the hallways, the security of seeing my grade in cardinal and pearl, and just the overall feeling of knowing I was where I was meant to be.

Chapelle has prepared me for real life in countless ways, but I do not think any person or place could prepare me for the situation our world currently faces. If there is anything I have learned from distance learning and quarantine, it is that we cannot get through anything on our own. Now, more than ever, is a time where we need to be there for each other.

I take comfort in knowing that I have 108 other Chapelle seniors experiencing the same feelings as I did in the midst of this madness.

My fellow seniors enhance my faith every day when I see them on social media, text them or get to see their beautiful faces via video chat. Getting to see my senior sisters smile and laugh (even for a few moments) restores my faith that God is with us.

I know the moment we all reunite will be nothing but pure joy. I know that this time of waiting for normalcy will not last forever. There will come a time when I get to reunite with my friends, a time that I will get to prepare for life in college. It is scary to imagine that I will leave this quarantine as a high school graduate, but Chapelle has always taught me to be confident in myself, even when I am afraid.

Chasing my dreams, like my senior quote says, will be possible no matter what challenges I face. As much as I don’t want to leave high school, I know that Chapelle will always be there for me in my memories, whether in person or even in digital.