The Class of 2024 has had a unique and remarkable journey to the graduation stage. Their freshman year was August of 2020, five months after the country shut down during Covid. Most high school and college freshmen went to school online which was still a new experience.
For students, this situation caused uncertainty and insecurity. While educators continued to navigate a new way to teach, the connections between teachers and students became different – and a lot of times, this different relationship through a screen caused students to lose sight of their goals and even their desire to finish. Pat Molnar in her article “Why the Collegiate Class of 2024 is Different than Any other Class” (Grown & Flown), argues that this class had “no roadmap” and “couldn’t ask their parents or older siblings for advice.” She explains how hard it was for this class to “navigate virtual classrooms, date while social distancing, make friends when their facial expressions were covered by a mask, or find closure for their senior year that was cut short.”
This spring, Jachin Floyd graduates with honors from Southwest Christian School and Shamar Peoples graduates from The University of Texas at Arlington with a BA in Criminal Justice. They had many bumps in the road, but persevered and showed such incredible character along the way. Jachin had to navigate a brand new high school not knowing anyone and dealt with masks, 2-week interruptions when someone was sick, and the uncertainty that everything would stop again because Covid was going to take over. Shamar never got closure on his senior year of high school – he had no real graduation, he went on spring break and never saw his high school friends again, and didn’t get that senior prom, senior trip, or anything that seniors enjoy the last 2 months of school.
Jachin has been a part of HOPE Farm since he was 6 years old. At Southwest Christian, he ran track and is currently undecided on where he will attend college. He has several acceptance letters and is praying about where he should begin his new chapter.
Shamar came to HOPE Farm in middle school and graduated from The Hill School in 2020. Shamar has accepted an offer to become a Police Officer with the City of Arlington and will attend the Police Academy this summer.
Jachin and Shamar have shown a unique ability to finish strong when all odds were against them. These two students have an incredible work ethic, confidence, and beautiful potential. These two students are going to change the world!
