As the class of 2025 comes to the end of their high school career, many look back on the last four years. From the Pandemic to the wars that have ensued since the start of our freshmen year in 2021, many drastic changes have been made.

Not so long ago, masks were still a thing, and social distancing was the norm. Many of us were navigating a strange, virtual world, trying to make the most of our individual lives. Friendships were maintained through screens, and school events were a combination of in person and on-line interactions.

“We were lucky enough to be the first class back in as freshmen and just see how things changed and slowly got back to normal,” senior Emma Guzman said. “Now that we’re seniors, things are pretty normal. Like freshman year, homecoming was outside, and that was not normal, cause we had to be spaced out.”

After the devastation left behind by Covid-19, the 2025 class was met with obstacles. We were supposed to return to a “normal” setting after the pandemic halted our middle school experience, creeping its way into freshman year. Students not only had to make the difficult change of going from almost over a year of e-learning and having zero contact with others to suddenly making a transition to a high school environment, they also had to somehow understand how to get a job and acquire a new social life, something that seemed quite foreign to many.

“Covid-19 impacted how I pay attention in class,” senior David Tiburcio said. “E-learning didn’t have the same disciplines as in person which would often lead me to not being present in the moment during class. My attention span decreased and it is extremely difficult to stay focused and engaged in the classroom, which has caused me a lot of challenges.”

The class of 2025 played an important role in rebuilding school spirit and community. From packed football games, to sold out theaters, students returned eagerly to embrace the new opportunities and the need for reconnection.

“What I take out from the last 4 years is just to not really care about things,” Guzman said. “I’ve given up on caring too much. Just trying to live and do whatever makes me happy. I wish I would have learned that sooner so I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed to do more things at South.”

Students saw the reelection of new presidents, as well as the various changes that impacted the world around them, both directly and indirectly. We saw the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine as well as that of Palestine and Israel, and the turmoil it caused in our communities as well as the impact it had on students and the Muslim population here at South.

The four years of high-school tend to be the most crucial, and our experience in these last 4 years has taught us resilience, adaptability, and the importance and necessity of human connection. New skills had to be learned by students, skills that might have once been deemed expected but that were no longer normal to many.

“The most important thing I learned in high school was time management,” Tiburcio said. “Beforehand, I would almost always complete assignment the day of or before it was due which. Upon entering high school, I realized it wouldn’t be possible. Most of my assignment required effort and time, which forced me to put aside time to complete my school work, but it also taught me to
set aside time for myself and the things I truly enjoy.”

Besides the impact of covid, students over the last four years faced the battle that was forming relationships with the staff here at South. From a common consensus, it was agreed by many of the seniors that many shared close bonds with staff at south. Teachers were not the only ones adapting to the new system, many had to learn new ways to teach and engage students in the classroom. Many included efforts to boost school spirit, aiming to make the next 3-4 years at south a memorable experience.

“As an AP teacher that year, when we came back, I had just started teaching AP Psychology. I started to include a lot of social/emotional learning,” AP teachers Natalie Danko said. “I’ll do meditation Mondays with all my classes. Psych also does free write Fridays. That was another opportunity that allowed to support students.”

Senior Alyssa Nelson gives her last parting words to the class of 2025:

“Power through all of the hard things, it will get easier eventually.”