They are the Class of 2020, born in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks and coming of age in another tumultuous time. The AP spoke with and photographed several graduating high school seniors to talk about where they've been and where they're going.
Medina High School graduate Gavin Walters poses for a photo near his home in Medina, Texas, on May 26, 2020. Gavin's father, Gary Walters Jr., a corporal in the Army, died in Iraq in 2005 when Gavin was just three years old. He is heading to basic training for the Navy -- a moment he wishes he could share with his father. But he says he's been glad to celebrate with his mom and other family, including on his dad's side.
Yes, they say, they have felt the impact of all that -- and missing prom or graduating in a virtual or socially distanced ceremony, while disappointing, is the least of it. But they also define themselves and their peers as resilient and ready for the challenges ahead. He will take with him photos of the father who still inspires him, though they never met. “This year has definitely been one of the harder ones,” he wrote recently, in a letter to his dad. “There’s days where I wish I had more than just pictures of you.”___Though Abia Khan was just 6 at the time, she was old enough to sense her father’s distress as he watched the stock market crash during the Great Recession of 2008.
Sagia also joined a youth program at the Chicago Police Department. She plans, eventually, to become a police officer and return to North Lawndale, to combat crime but also to help build better relations with the community – something she sees as more important than ever as cities burn in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Eventually, she hopes to buy a home large enough to house them and her younger brothers and their families. For her, togetherness is “everything,” especially now.The one thing Del Smith hoped his dad could save was his guitar -- that, and Kermit, their orange tabby cat. But the ferocious wildfire approached their home in rural Paradise, California, too quickly.This was the Camp Fire, a blaze that would kill 85 people and burn more than 150,000 acres.
Del plans to attend nearby Butte College and then transfer to a bigger school. Maybe he’ll be a sound engineer. He’s thought about law school.
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