Postpone college? Study at home? BHS 2020 Grads make tough college decisions

The celebration was everything but traditional for Blaine High School graduates when they marked the end of their K-12 education in a June virtual graduation. Class of 2020 graduates across the country left school in a time of uncertainty, not knowing what the future would bring. Now, two months later, some are packing their bags for college, others are staying in Blaine for a gap year and others are left scrambling to make last-minute decisions.

The Northern Light followed up with seven recent graduates we interviewed in April about finishing their high school careers in a pandemic.

Leo Good had just returned from a road trip to the Grand Canyon when he heard the news: Football season at the University of Redlands would be canceled. He didn’t wait to learn if classes at the Southern California university would be online. He decided to take a gap year after seven months of preparing to join the university’s football team.

“It was an odd feeling trying to process that I have another year and not a month,” Good said of his extended stay in Blaine.

Good quit his job at Burger King at the beginning of the summer to spend time with family and friends before leaving for college. Now, he’s looking for a job while enjoying spending time with close friends and family.

Tobin Akre was planning to play baseball at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake. He decided to take a year off to stay safe during Covid-19 and prepare to pay student loans by working at his mom’s store, Pacific Building Center.

Although he stays busy working full-time and working out for the next baseball season, Akre said it’s an odd feeling not playing the sport he’s played since he was 4 years old.

“There are times where it’s definitely all I think about at work,” Akre said.

But for Ingrid Aosved and her sister, Marni, college became a reality on August 15 when they packed their bags and moved into their dorms at Willamette University, a small private college in Salem, Oregon.

Ingrid Aosved said she’s excited to live on campus but is apprehensive about how others will physical distance and wear masks on campus. To mitigate the potential impact of Covid-19 on campus, the Aosved sisters said they aren’t able to see each other’s decorated dorms or come home before Thanksgiving.

Despite this, Ingrid Aosved looks forward to participating in the school’s arts programs and meeting up with her sister and another Blaine graduate for coffee.

Dylan Burnett, a former member of wind ensemble and jazz band, is preparing to move into his dorm at the University of Washington.

He had a roommate back out of their housing because of Covid-19, leaving him unsure of who he’ll live with a month before moving in, but nonetheless he is excited to take the next step toward college life.

“It will be disappointing to not be able to go into classes for my first quarter of college,” he said, adding that he is excited for the array of course offerings at UW.

Burnett, who plans on majoring in molecular biology, said he’s nervous about having a tough workload without the same support as in-person classes.

Emma Mulryan, former class president, said she pulled out of her dorm housing at Central Washington University in early August. Mulryan made the decision because only a fraction of students were able to live on-campus and she feared a spike in Covid-19 cases could push her out of housing.

“I thought it would be really exciting to get out of Blaine and meet new people but since the pandemic started, it’ll be hard to get that experience,” she said.

The desire to experience a new area has Mulryan debating if she will get an apartment in Ellensburg with the people she would have lived with in the dorms – a decision she’s mulling over with friends and family, including her older sister who attended Central Washington University.

Mulryan said a lot of her classmates who planned on attending UW and Washington State University will stay home, while some now attend university in states with lower Covid-19 case counts. Many others, like Savannah Camba, enrolled in community college.

Camba is planning to use the upcoming year to finish the associate degree she started with Running Start at Whatcom Community College. She then plans to transfer to Western Washington University to study human services.

“Everyday it’s changing so it’s kind of like you have to take the punches and roll with it,” Camba said. “You have to get used to the constant changes.”

Instead of moving out like she had hoped, Camba decided to stay at home while attending Whatcom Community College. Camba said she goes on bike rides and works out to distract herself from the added stress she’s felt this summer.

Camba said it’s a positive that she gets more time to spend with her friends who have decided to stay in Blaine for the year but she’s sad that they will miss out on part of their college experience – something she says will always be a part of the class of 2020.

“It’s made us come together but it also makes us feel like we didn’t get to close that chapter,” she said. “It’s a book page still open.”