Senior year of high school is a highly anticipated, exceptionally enjoyable season of life. This is especially true at Woodford County High School, where there is no shortage of school pride and where traditions, such as pep rallies and spirit days, are held in high esteem. In August 2019, the seniors at WCHS stepped into their role of leading the charge of enthusiastic student sections, well-attended Homecoming events, fun times in the cafeteria, diligence in the classroom, and so much more. The senior class always plays an important part in setting the tone for the rest of the student body, and the Class of 2020 set a tone of friendship, responsibility, selflessness, and a whole lot of fun.
It was the hope and reasonable expectation of the senior class to continue to demonstrate these traits throughout the year’s remaining rites of passage: spring break, prom, the senior class trip, various senior recognition nights, and ultimately graduation. However, as we now know, the last ten weeks of senior year for the Class of 2020 would look unlike anything we could have envisioned at the start of the school year.
Although there are several factors for why this unexpected turn of events has been so painful for the seniors, perhaps the most distressing element is how quickly everything changed and how unfinished their senior year has felt. Abbie Hudson, Senior Class President, says, “The biggest thing that my classmates and I have said is that we wish we could come back to the school one more time.” In the wake of grieving all that was lost at the end of her senior year, one of Abbie’s friends from another state shared that his community was implementing an Adopt-a-Senior program. As soon as she saw the idea, Abbie knew that this was something she needed to bring to Woodford County. She says, “There was so much more that I wanted to give [my class], but I knew this was at least something I could give them that would put a lot of smiles on faces.”
Abbie and her mother, Kimberly, set to work to begin making Adopt-a-Senior a reality. Kimberly remarks that everything regarding COVID-19 and school closure was out of her control, but working to coordinate this meaningful initiative was something that she could do to help put tape on her daughter’s broken heart. What’s more is that Kimberly is also a graduate of Woodford County High School; she, too, walked the halls of WCHS, attended pep rallies and school dances, and knew what it meant to finish out your senior year as a Yellow Jacket. Kimberly remarks, “That’s my school, too. It’s a special place as a student, and it’s a special place as a parent.”
Early in the planning process, Abbie and Kimberly were put in contact with Veronica Parker, a woman in the community who had also heard of this initiative and thought it would be something that Woodford County would enjoy. Veronica has children in the school district and serves as the Chairperson of the Woodford Educational Endowment Foundation, so she certainly has a heart for helping students. When she saw posts on Facebook from her friends with graduating seniors, she knew that she had to do something to ease the grief that the Class of 2020 was experiencing. Veronica elaborates, “I wanted to do something to let these kids know that their community loves them…[Kimberly and I] wanted to do our part while sitting here in quarantine, thinking we can do something to make a difference.”
The three women teamed up with one goal in mind: to let the Class of 2020 know that the community felt sympathetic to their situation and desired to show their support for the senior class. Veronica managed a Facebook page, Kimberly filmed instructional videos, Abbie reached out to her classmates, and all three of them maintained constant communication with the public. One day, with the help of Will Smiley, senior at WCHS, the group sat down to match community sponsors with senior recipients. The process took hours. Abbie explains that though it wasn’t a difficult process, it was very time-consuming. Veronica adds, “My laptop has been on non-stop, but it’s been worth it. Our kids are worth it. I am pleased with the results; it makes you feel good.”
Kimberly agrees that the results have been incredible. She expresses her love of Woodford County and that she knew people would be interested in this program, but she did not anticipate having over 350 very kindhearted, enthusiastic people reach out to bless an 18-year old they had never met with a beautiful gift basket.
The Class of 2020 has been comforted and pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of love from the community. Ryan Alvey, senior at WCHS, says, “It’s been really difficult being a senior. Something you’re told during high school and throughout your school career is that senior year is the fun ending to your public education. Some of the things we look forward to during that time, like graduation and prom, were abruptly taken from us. To go through the entire school journey up to this point, it’s disappointing to not get some of those things.” Amidst this hardship, Ryan has been very comforted by the show of support from the school district as well as from the community. From various forms of senior recognition to fun videos from teachers and staff to Adopt-a-Senior, Ryan says, “It feels unique, and it feels like we’re getting reparations for an opportunity that we can’t have.”
In regards to Adopt-a-Senior, Ryan remarks, “With the little information [the sponsors] have, they’re congratulating you. They don’t know you other than a few little things you like or eat, and it’s cool that someone is willing to show gratitude and appreciation for students who have worked hard to get where we are at now….It reinforces the idea that there are people who care and who realize that we don’t get the opportunities that they had due to the pandemic..." Ryan is grateful to be in a community where he may not know everyone personally, but he now sees clearly that the people of Woodford County care for the students in our schools.
Although this initiative is entirely designed to love and support the seniors of WCHS, the community sponsors who adopted students have enjoyed it just as much. The Facebook page created for communication purposes is now filled with participants showing off “their senior.” Veronica notes that they are still receiving messages from people who want to adopt seniors. Beckie Osbourn, who is the mother of a current senior as well as two graduates of WCHS, had such a wonderful time shopping for her adopted senior, assembling the gift, and delivering it. She says, “For me personally, it was really exciting because we all need this interaction with people...It gave sponsors something to look forward to...We are a small, close-knit community. In some way, you know people, whether it’s church or sports or because you met at the pool at Falling Springs.” Beckie describes the Woodford County community as connected, and she believes that in a place like this, Adopt-a-Senior should be a tradition that stays.
Although this pandemic has been excruciating, it has encouraged people to look for the good, and that is exactly was Adopt-a-Senior did for the people of Woodford County. Kimberly Hudson sums up this community-wide experience by saying, “You always hear at the high school that it’s the Gold Standard, and I think that’s exactly what our community exuded. They lived that out loud and showed our kids what the Gold Standard looks like.”
All of us, together, We Are Woodford.
