With graduation canceled, OC senior makes yard signs for Class of 2020 to promote unity
After graduation was canceled, a Fountain Valley senior made yard signs for her classmates, with a cookie attached, to remind them they are not alone.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- All of the events canceled during this coronavirus emergency have really hit hard for the Class of 2020, but one local high school senior found a way to support her fellow soon-to-be graduates.
Like schools across California, Fountain Valley High School is closed for the remainder of the year, and it's made many students sad about what they're missing out on.
"Especially seniors because of the traditional graduation and prom and grad night. All the senior-specific activities that we've lost because of this pandemic," said Sydney Gill, a Fountain Valley High student.
That's why 17-year-old Gill decided to make customized yard signs to remind her fellow quarantined seniors that they're in this together.
"I got 25. Put one in my yard and passed the 24 out to all my friends, just stuck it in their yard as like a way to bring us together without actually bringing us together," Gill said.
Gill attached a note and a cookie to the back of each sign, brightening days that for some have turned dark.
Like for Lauren Wilson, who's having a tough time thinking about not walking across the stage in front of her parents.
"It just made me feel even more connected with my whole school and the seniors and it just really felt like yea, we really are all in this together," said Wilson, a senior at Fountain Valley High.
Especially their group of friends who have known each other since kindergarten.
"Some of us are splitting off our separate ways, which is really heartbreaking. I'm like tearing up just thinking about it. And just getting our last memories together," Wilson said.
Which is why parents and students like Sydney are thinking of even more creative ways to stay safe, but connected.
"'Cause we're not in this alone, like the sign says, and just remember everyone's going through it," Gill said.
The district says it is working on alternative ways to celebrate the year's accomplishments. The superintendent says he hopes this year will be remembered for a time when they came together during difficult circumstances to place family first and others first.
