ST PAUL, Minn. — Sometimes life's journey is peppered with detours. And Champlin Park high school seniors, Collineus Ogharibhor and Alexa Salo, are learning to navigate.
Both fear the two things they were most looking forward to in 2020 won't go on as planned because of COVID-19.
"I was looking forward to prom! I already got all of my appointments booked. I got my dress. I bought it in January. It's black and sparkly, Salo said. "Girls have been looking forward to prom since they were so little. Just the feeling of trying on your favorite dresses."
Collineus Ogharibhor has dreamed about hearing his name called during the graduation ceremony.
"To be honest, I was most looking forward to the graduation ceremony. We've gone to school for so long and not to have one when it's our year, like 2020 it sucks, why us?," he said.
DeAngelo Funches is living PART OF the reality the high school students fear. He received an e-mail from staff informing him the May 2020 commencement ceremonies at Concordia University in St. Paul are cancelled.
"I am the first in my family to go to college and to actually graduate high school," Funches said. "I played college football but I quit so I could focus on academics and make sure I could graduate in time because football can be a hassle. I want to set a new standard for my little brother and sister."
He will still get his bachelor's degree in business management without the pomp and circumstance.
"In a month and a half, I was going to walk across the stage. And all my family members were going to be there and just being in an environment that isn't the norm for us," he said. "I just worked so hard and completed all of my courses those 4.5 years. I was looking forward to getting that diploma and walking across the stage ... I take that to heart. It would've been a cool experience and that would've been a memory that I would carry for the rest of my life."
Despite the uncertainty, Funches knows this detour won't deny his dreams.
A message he hopes the high school students embrace.
"Think about the bigger picture, it is for our health," he said. "We can only control what we can control."
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