PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia's high school seniors are graduating after an academic year of all-remote learning because of COVID-19.
For many, learning through a Chromebook posed an unprecedented challenge.
The School District invited five of its graduating seniors to Superintendent William Hite's Zoom news conference Thursday to talk about their experiences.
"Our seniors have shown that even when faced with adversity, they can exceed expectations," Hite said.
Applying to a school that accepts only 8% of its applicants is unnerving on its own.
Machi Church, part of the Parkway Northwest High School Class of 2021.School District of Philadelphia
For Machi Church, a senior at Parkway Northwest High School, it was compounded by not being able to see his counselors or teachers in person this year.
"The college aspect, applying to the Naval Academy – that half of the year was pretty stressful," Church said.
"I felt like I overcame that with my relationship with my family, and also God. He allowed me to stay focused, stay determined, stay disciplined on the task at hand so I can complete all my goals and eventually do what I want to do in the future."
Damonte Rush, a senior at Carver High School for Engineering and Science.School District of Philadelphia
"It was really difficult getting through, especially when it comes to the motivation aspect," said Damonte Rush, a senior at Carver High School for Engineering and Science.
"There are a lot of instances where it was really difficult to push through. But I just knew that I had to, especially considering it was my last year."
"The first half of the school year was definitely the hardest. It was completely new and different. Nothing I had ever experienced before," said Rush, who's headed to Morehouse College.
"I think that the interaction in-person between the students and the teacher was just something that I really missed and enjoyed."
Geyante Payne missed being with her classmates inside Vaux Big Picture High School, but she, too, accepted the challenge.
"At first it was a struggle, because I was doing CCP (Community College of Philadelphia) classes and regular classes at the same time," Payne said.
"But over time, I managed. And I just stepped right up and I got to it. But it made me miss being inside a school a whole lot."
Payne has a full scholarship to Cheyney University, where she plans to study criminal justice.
Gabriel Hernandez, a senior at Mastbaum High School.School District of Philadelphia
Gabriel Hernandez, a senior at Mastbaum High School, believes he fell behind because he didn't have as much hands-on training at his automotive technology program.
"The great challenge I had because of COVID is that I didn't a chance to learn as much as I wanted to. Because of COVID, they had to close down the apprenticeship program," Hernandez said.
"Much of the learning comes through hands-on. So I don't think I understand as much as I need to."
Hernandez has been accepted to a training program with the City of Philadelphia Office of Fleet Management. He said he's enrolled in a part-time trade school to catch up, after graduation.
Randolph Technical High School senior Akira Webster.School District of Philadelphia.
Randolph Technical High School senior Akira Webster said spending her senior year entirely on a laptop got easier as time went on. So much so, that she might even prefer virtual learning now.
"At first I did not like it," said Webster, who plans to attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
"I did not like it at all. But I actually enjoy it, because I can manage different things while still going to school."
