"During this quarantine, many people have missed plenty of things, such as birthdays, celebrations, or other family events. But, one big thing that plenty of people have missed out on is school." --Trevor Walton, 7th grade
During this quarantine, many people have missed plenty of things, such as birthdays, celebrations, or other family events. But, one big thing that plenty of people have missed out on is school. Sure, you may be happy about that, though for seniors, it’s a tragedy. Seniors, not just at Oakland School for the Arts, but everywhere, missed out on prom, decision day, arts events, and one of the most exciting moments of all of high school: graduation.
However, OSA is planning a way to do graduation from the comforts of students’ homes. How do the seniors feel about this?
Literary Arts senior, Justin Walton, has been looking forward to graduation all year. Walton has been in the Literary Arts emphasis for all four years at OSA and has enjoyed it very much. “I decided to go to OSA because I wanted to focus on my art,” Walton said, “I knew writing was something I was good at, and I wanted to continue on developing my craft. Before, I hated school, but since I am doing something that I love, It allowed me to focus and actually enjoy school. This has been my fourth year at OSA. There have been some ups and downs, but there have been a lot of positives.”
Walton had a lot of mixed feelings when OSA closed due to Covid19, it was really “unexpected” to him. “It really sucked,” Walton explained. “People say senior year is your best year, and right when this pandemic was going to happen, all the fun stuff was going to start. We had all these senior activities such as Senior Ditch Day and prom, but we can’t do that now. It was really sad because all the seniors have a great connection with each other, and I’m sad that we can’t say goodbye to each other. Even though I was looking forward to prom, I was especially looking forward to graduation. High school was never easy for me, and I really just wanted to walk on the stage and just feel like I did it.”
For college, Walton is planning on going to the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University (NYU). Walton loves New York and its environment. To him, he thinks that it’s a “great place” for artists. “When I toured there, I knew it was the place for me and where I wanted to go,” Walton said. Because of quarantine, colleges have to start doing online school, and Walton thinks that it’s not really ideal.
“Really, it sucks,” Walton said sadly, “It’s not ideal, but I’m willing to do it to get a good education and be able to graduate from college. A lot of my work is going to be in the studio, so I’m wondering how that is going to work out for me. But, it is what it is.”
Even if online college is going to happen, Walton is not thinking of deferring like other seniors. “I’m not thinking about deferring just because I see it as a challenge I can overcome,” Walton explained. “Sure, I might not be able to get the full college experience in New York, but I still want to work to graduate on time and get my degree. I really want to go to college. I want to get a full college education, even though it is not at college.”
When Walton was asked what his favorite moment in high school was, he responded, “Some of my favorite moments in high school were prom last year, which was definitely fun. Another fun moment was when me and my friend Ajai hosted a rally last year. And, definitely when I performed with the vocal department, Daveed Diggs, and Rafael Casal. Plus, writing my book is another favorite moment of mine as well. That process was difficult but I had a great time doing it.”
When Walton was asked what he would have done differently if he knew that shelter-in-place was going to happen, he responded, “Man, I think I would have taken advantage of my last days at school. I would live it up and have fun with my friends because I will never have classes at OSA or be taught by the same teachers ever again. So, I really would have just taken my last moments at the school.”
Theater senior, Isabela Penner, was also looking forward to graduation as well. Penner has been in the theater department since 6th grade at OSA, and outside of her department, she has been performing theater since she was 4-years-old. When Penner was asked why she went to OSA, she responded, “I’ve always loved to act and have always dreamed about pursuing it. Before OSA, I had been going to the same school since first grade. I had a really bad experience there so I was definitely ready to go to a different school. My time at OSA was more than I could have ever expected. Though it’s changed a lot throughout the years, when I got there the sense of community was really strong and I felt incredibly welcomed.”
However, OSA is planning a way to do graduation from the comforts of students’ homes. How do the seniors feel about this?
Literary Arts senior, Justin Walton, has been looking forward to graduation all year. Walton has been in the Literary Arts emphasis for all four years at OSA and has enjoyed it very much. “I decided to go to OSA because I wanted to focus on my art,” Walton said, “I knew writing was something I was good at, and I wanted to continue on developing my craft. Before, I hated school, but since I am doing something that I love, It allowed me to focus and actually enjoy school. This has been my fourth year at OSA. There have been some ups and downs, but there have been a lot of positives.”
Walton had a lot of mixed feelings when OSA closed due to Covid19, it was really “unexpected” to him. “It really sucked,” Walton explained. “People say senior year is your best year, and right when this pandemic was going to happen, all the fun stuff was going to start. We had all these senior activities such as Senior Ditch Day and prom, but we can’t do that now. It was really sad because all the seniors have a great connection with each other, and I’m sad that we can’t say goodbye to each other. Even though I was looking forward to prom, I was especially looking forward to graduation. High school was never easy for me, and I really just wanted to walk on the stage and just feel like I did it.”
For college, Walton is planning on going to the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University (NYU). Walton loves New York and its environment. To him, he thinks that it’s a “great place” for artists. “When I toured there, I knew it was the place for me and where I wanted to go,” Walton said. Because of quarantine, colleges have to start doing online school, and Walton thinks that it’s not really ideal.
“Really, it sucks,” Walton said sadly, “It’s not ideal, but I’m willing to do it to get a good education and be able to graduate from college. A lot of my work is going to be in the studio, so I’m wondering how that is going to work out for me. But, it is what it is.”
Even if online college is going to happen, Walton is not thinking of deferring like other seniors. “I’m not thinking about deferring just because I see it as a challenge I can overcome,” Walton explained. “Sure, I might not be able to get the full college experience in New York, but I still want to work to graduate on time and get my degree. I really want to go to college. I want to get a full college education, even though it is not at college.”
When Walton was asked what his favorite moment in high school was, he responded, “Some of my favorite moments in high school were prom last year, which was definitely fun. Another fun moment was when me and my friend Ajai hosted a rally last year. And, definitely when I performed with the vocal department, Daveed Diggs, and Rafael Casal. Plus, writing my book is another favorite moment of mine as well. That process was difficult but I had a great time doing it.”
When Walton was asked what he would have done differently if he knew that shelter-in-place was going to happen, he responded, “Man, I think I would have taken advantage of my last days at school. I would live it up and have fun with my friends because I will never have classes at OSA or be taught by the same teachers ever again. So, I really would have just taken my last moments at the school.”
Theater senior, Isabela Penner, was also looking forward to graduation as well. Penner has been in the theater department since 6th grade at OSA, and outside of her department, she has been performing theater since she was 4-years-old. When Penner was asked why she went to OSA, she responded, “I’ve always loved to act and have always dreamed about pursuing it. Before OSA, I had been going to the same school since first grade. I had a really bad experience there so I was definitely ready to go to a different school. My time at OSA was more than I could have ever expected. Though it’s changed a lot throughout the years, when I got there the sense of community was really strong and I felt incredibly welcomed.”
Just like Walton, Penner says it sucks that OSA is being cancelled right when she and all the other seniors were wrapping up their senior year. “I’ve been at OSA for seven years, so I grew up with a lot of the students there,” Penner said, “It sucks to not be able to be celebrating this next chapter of our lives together.” Penner is going to Columbia College of Chicago and loves it’s environment. “For me a really important factor when I was college searching was the environment,” Penner explained. “Columbia checked everything off my list being that I loved the city of Chicago, the school’s curriculum is amazing, and they allow for art students to travel abroad which was really important for me.”
Like Walton, Penner is also frustrated about the possibility of doing online college next year. “I’m definitely upset that my first year of college will potentially be online but at the end of the day it is what it is,” Penner said, “There are much more pressing issues around the world and even though it sucks it won’t be the end of the world.”
Unlike Walton, Penner isn’t sure if she is going to defer or not. “At first I was pretty positive that I wanted to defer,” Penner stated, “But now after I’ve had multiple conversations about the subject, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I would only defer if we were still in shelter-in-place but then I would have nothing else to do.”
When Penner was asked what her favorite moment in high school was, she responded with saying, “I don’t have just one favorite moment of high school, but throughout my years at OSA, I am really proud of my growth. I definitely started high school a much different person than I am now.”
Like Walton, if shelter-in-place wasn’t happening, a senior event that Penner was looking forward to was graduation. “My family was planning on coming out here from Brazil as a birthday present,” Penner explained. “They were coming to the graduation, so I’m really disappointed they weren’t able to do that.”
When Penner was asked what she would have done differently if she knew that shelter-in-place was going to happen, she responded with saying, “I have no idea. My last day was actually a really good day. I coincidentally spent it with a lot of my friends. So I don’t think I would have done anything differently.”
Like Walton, Penner is also frustrated about the possibility of doing online college next year. “I’m definitely upset that my first year of college will potentially be online but at the end of the day it is what it is,” Penner said, “There are much more pressing issues around the world and even though it sucks it won’t be the end of the world.”
Unlike Walton, Penner isn’t sure if she is going to defer or not. “At first I was pretty positive that I wanted to defer,” Penner stated, “But now after I’ve had multiple conversations about the subject, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I would only defer if we were still in shelter-in-place but then I would have nothing else to do.”
When Penner was asked what her favorite moment in high school was, she responded with saying, “I don’t have just one favorite moment of high school, but throughout my years at OSA, I am really proud of my growth. I definitely started high school a much different person than I am now.”
Like Walton, if shelter-in-place wasn’t happening, a senior event that Penner was looking forward to was graduation. “My family was planning on coming out here from Brazil as a birthday present,” Penner explained. “They were coming to the graduation, so I’m really disappointed they weren’t able to do that.”
When Penner was asked what she would have done differently if she knew that shelter-in-place was going to happen, she responded with saying, “I have no idea. My last day was actually a really good day. I coincidentally spent it with a lot of my friends. So I don’t think I would have done anything differently.”
Another senior that was looking forward to graduation was Ajai Kasim, a student in Fashion Design. Kasim has done fashion for two years and it has become a big part of his life. Kasim decided to go to OSA since others at his elementary school were going there also. “I had a few big homies that I looked up to in elementary school that went to OSA,” Kasim said. “They inspired me to pursue my artistry.”
When Kasim was asked how he felt about school being cancelled right when he was wrapping up 12th grade, he responded with saying, “At first I was really upset about it, felt like we did all this work for nothing. But now, I’ve kinda accepted the position we are in, and i’m hoping for the best.” Kasim will be attending the Parsons School of Design for college next year. He chose this school since he could see himself “coming alive” there. “I chose parsons because I can really see a constant drive of aspiration and connection being built there,” Kasim explained.
Kasim was also frustrated about the possibility of doing online college next year. “I'm not happy about it at all,” he said. “I really wanna begin my life on my own. Start seeing the world. The idea of online makes me feel like I'm missing out on the most important aspects of the college experience. But I think the universe has a plan in store so I'm tryna stay positive.” Since all of Kasim’s classes are hands on, and he won’t be able to do them because of his college being closed, he is thinking about the possibility of deferring. But, only for just one semester.
When I asked Kasim what his favorite moment in high school was, he responded by saying, “WOW this question is really hard man. There are so many beautiful and important moments that I’ve been blessed to have in high school, so I can’t really choose. But I’m really thankful for my relationship with Nyame Imani.”
Like Walton and Penner, Kasim also said that graduation was an event he was looking forward to if shelter-in-place wasn’t happening. “Graduation would be nice,” Kasim said. “It would be that final statement, that final moment, that tells me I did it.” Kasim wasn’t honestly sure what he would have done if he knew before that shelter-in-place was going to happen. “I’m in a pretty good position overall,” Kasim explained. “So I’m not sure what I would have done differently. Probably just spend more time with the homies.”
When Kasim was asked how he felt about school being cancelled right when he was wrapping up 12th grade, he responded with saying, “At first I was really upset about it, felt like we did all this work for nothing. But now, I’ve kinda accepted the position we are in, and i’m hoping for the best.” Kasim will be attending the Parsons School of Design for college next year. He chose this school since he could see himself “coming alive” there. “I chose parsons because I can really see a constant drive of aspiration and connection being built there,” Kasim explained.
Kasim was also frustrated about the possibility of doing online college next year. “I'm not happy about it at all,” he said. “I really wanna begin my life on my own. Start seeing the world. The idea of online makes me feel like I'm missing out on the most important aspects of the college experience. But I think the universe has a plan in store so I'm tryna stay positive.” Since all of Kasim’s classes are hands on, and he won’t be able to do them because of his college being closed, he is thinking about the possibility of deferring. But, only for just one semester.
When I asked Kasim what his favorite moment in high school was, he responded by saying, “WOW this question is really hard man. There are so many beautiful and important moments that I’ve been blessed to have in high school, so I can’t really choose. But I’m really thankful for my relationship with Nyame Imani.”
Like Walton and Penner, Kasim also said that graduation was an event he was looking forward to if shelter-in-place wasn’t happening. “Graduation would be nice,” Kasim said. “It would be that final statement, that final moment, that tells me I did it.” Kasim wasn’t honestly sure what he would have done if he knew before that shelter-in-place was going to happen. “I’m in a pretty good position overall,” Kasim explained. “So I’m not sure what I would have done differently. Probably just spend more time with the homies.”
Senior, Jayla Hernandez, Instrumental student, had a lot of mixed emotions when she found out that OSA was being closed for the rest of the school year. Hernandez has been doing instrumental music for 12 years, in and out of OSA. “I feel like music is my outlet of expressing myself,” Hernandez said, “I couldn’t express myself verbally, so music was the best way to do it.”
Hernandez wanted to go to OSA because plenty of people told her about the school and how she had the talent to go there. When Hernandez was asked how she felt about OSA closing when she was wrapping up 12th grade, she responded with saying, “It was a lot of mixed emotions. I felt sad at first, but I realized that I’m grateful for what’s to come and what I have right now because I have access to food and my instrument. It gives me the time to be thankful for the universe and how much it provided me.”
Hernandez is going to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music next year. “After I researched the faculty, I was excited for my next steps and what was to come,” Hernandez said. At first, she didn’t know about the possibility of colleges doing online schooling, but she says it’s necessary for all of us so that we can be safe during this pandemic. And, when it is all over, we can come together as one.
Unlike Kasim, Hernandez isn’t thinking about deferring from college. “I say no for right now,” Hernandez stated, “I don’t think my college will allow me to defer. Plus, I don’t think my family came to the conclusion of the possibility of deferring. I think you get the college experience either way.”
When Hernandez was asked what her favorite moment in high school was, she responded with saying, “In Instrumental, we have combos. It’s different rhythms. I’m in the highest combo. One day my teacher pulled me over and told me that he didn’t think I was really fully engaged. I told him that this is not really a jazz class because we weren’t doing too much in it. My teacher responded to me by saying you can’t make a living off jazz. So, I wanted to prove him and all the other doubters wrong.”
Unlike Walton, Kasim, and Penner, Hernandez didn’t pick graduation as the senior event she was looking forward to most if quarantine wasn’t happening. “I would say senior recital since I think that was one of the last times I could showcase my work and talent in high school before I go off for graduation,” Hernandez said. If Hernandez knew before that quarantine was going to happen, something that she would have done differently was hang out with her friends more. “I would have played music with my friends as much as I could because since we can’t see each other in this quarantine, I think that I could have just hung out with them before the 6 feet rules came into place,” she said.
Even if quarantine is happening right now, it isn’t stopping these seniors at OSA from going into the next chapter in their life. And, although the 2020 graduation isn’t going to be exactly how OSA planned, it is still going to be a memorable time that no one will forget.
Hernandez wanted to go to OSA because plenty of people told her about the school and how she had the talent to go there. When Hernandez was asked how she felt about OSA closing when she was wrapping up 12th grade, she responded with saying, “It was a lot of mixed emotions. I felt sad at first, but I realized that I’m grateful for what’s to come and what I have right now because I have access to food and my instrument. It gives me the time to be thankful for the universe and how much it provided me.”
Hernandez is going to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music next year. “After I researched the faculty, I was excited for my next steps and what was to come,” Hernandez said. At first, she didn’t know about the possibility of colleges doing online schooling, but she says it’s necessary for all of us so that we can be safe during this pandemic. And, when it is all over, we can come together as one.
Unlike Kasim, Hernandez isn’t thinking about deferring from college. “I say no for right now,” Hernandez stated, “I don’t think my college will allow me to defer. Plus, I don’t think my family came to the conclusion of the possibility of deferring. I think you get the college experience either way.”
When Hernandez was asked what her favorite moment in high school was, she responded with saying, “In Instrumental, we have combos. It’s different rhythms. I’m in the highest combo. One day my teacher pulled me over and told me that he didn’t think I was really fully engaged. I told him that this is not really a jazz class because we weren’t doing too much in it. My teacher responded to me by saying you can’t make a living off jazz. So, I wanted to prove him and all the other doubters wrong.”
Unlike Walton, Kasim, and Penner, Hernandez didn’t pick graduation as the senior event she was looking forward to most if quarantine wasn’t happening. “I would say senior recital since I think that was one of the last times I could showcase my work and talent in high school before I go off for graduation,” Hernandez said. If Hernandez knew before that quarantine was going to happen, something that she would have done differently was hang out with her friends more. “I would have played music with my friends as much as I could because since we can’t see each other in this quarantine, I think that I could have just hung out with them before the 6 feet rules came into place,” she said.
Even if quarantine is happening right now, it isn’t stopping these seniors at OSA from going into the next chapter in their life. And, although the 2020 graduation isn’t going to be exactly how OSA planned, it is still going to be a memorable time that no one will forget.
