The novel coronavirus canceled many celebrations for the Class of 2020, including graduations.
To boost senior's spirits, Greenville County Schools created a video series titled "Hope for the Future."
Lori Hoyer, a Work-Based Learning Coordinator with GCS, saw how sad her students were about the cancellation end-of-year celebrations and how nervous they feel about the future.
"In talking to them it was very apparent that they were distraught, that they were disappointed; there was a lot of uncertainty amongst these students, and I heard that in their voice," Hoyer said.
Guidance counselors with GCS were hearing much of the same.
Hoyer asked herself who might serve as a voice of encouragement.
Hoyer reached out to Deb Sofield, a Greenville-based motivational speaker, and asked if she would record a video encouraging seniors.
Sofield agreed and suggested contacting other community leaders to provide messages of hope for the class of 2020.
Hoyer passed the idea up the chain of command in Greenville County Schools and the project began in earnest.
Hoyer has worked closely with Tim Waller, Director of Media Relations with GCS, since the beginning of April to create the video series.
Since then several leaders, including Deb Sofield, Build Carolina's executive director Lelia King, and Greenville Mayor Knox White, have recorded messages for Greenville County School seniors.
"I hope that these students can certainly feel that there are others behind them and they are not alone," Hoyer said.
The videos are available to the public on the Greenville County Schools Facebook page; seniors can access them through GCS Backpack.
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