BEST PARTS MISSING

From no graduation to online college, changes kept coming

By JACK BELCHER

staff writer

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of many people, especially students. While deaths are low for the younger generations, they are still missing out on once-in-alifetime opportunities.

Brinley Hagemeier and the rest of her Ellenburg High School class of 2020 had a virtual senior graduation. Other districts in the county had either a virtual, or a modified graduation.

“Everything just kinda happened so quickly. At first we were just going to take two weeks off of school and I know a lot of us were just excited to have a little break, and then all of the sudden it was like everything was shut down,” Hagemeier said. “We kinda missed out on the best parts of our senior year. The most important parts. The most exciting parts.”

Hagemeier’s class was suddenly moved completely online when the lockdown started, and they had to learn on the fly how everything worked. She said this was a new experience and a big change for herself and many of her peers.

The challenge faced by many students at the time was balancing their schoolwork. With classes online, students were left without the strict classroom setting, and were given much more freedom. Hagemeier said it was easy for schoolwork to quickly pile up.

She was able to complete the state tournament for EHS basketball where the team placed sixth. When the season ended Central Washington University asked if she wanted to come and play for the college.

“Central is just really where I wanted to be. I wanted to play at a high level, and I just felt like this was a really good fit for me,” Hagemeier said. “They have had a really good program for a long time now so I just wanted to be a part of the team here.”

UNUSUAL EXPERIENCE

Her freshman year of college was, and still is, an unusual one as a result of the pandemic. CWU also had to move classes to a virtual setting to limit the amount of people on campus. They still had limited in-person classes, but everyone was required to wear masks.

“It was different for sure. Everything was still online for me, I had one class that was still in-person, but I think the end of my senior year being online actually zzzhelped me be ready for the online environment at Central,” she said.

Hagemeier missed the transition from high school senior to college freshman. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that was severely different from anything she imagined.

“I thought I would be able to meet a lot more people, which I wasn’t able to do this year because of COVID,” she said.

She likes to look on the bright side, and said she might not have learned as much about herself if the pandemic never happened. Now she knows to never take things for granted, and to enjoy things when they happen.

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almanac 2021

Ellensburg High School’s Brinley Hagemeier (1) smiles after receiving a medal for sportsmanship against Liberty-Issaquah High School during the WIAA Hardwood ClassicMarch 4, 2020 at Yakima Valley SunDome. The tournament was the last high school sporting event held before schools and sports were shut down in mid-March.

“It was kinda of a bummer that it ended up carrying over from the end of my senior year into my freshman year, but I know that I have a few more years left under my belt so I will just have to take what I can get from those and hope for the best,” Hagemeier said. “You never know what’s gonna happen, but I’m excited.”

As for athletics, the basketball season was canceled in the fall. These games were rescheduled for February and March, but most were postponed and canceled. The team was able to play two games, on March 12 and 13. Unfortunately they lost both of these games, and ended the season 0-2. Hagemeier didn’t play in the games, as she had ankle surgery the week before.

The team has spent most of the year practicing for games it never got to play. In the fall they practiced until it was announced the games would be postponed. They took winter break off, then came back in January to practice some more.

“Obviously the situation is kinda a bummer, it’s not ideal,” Hagemeier said. “But it really has taught me a lot. Both as a basketball player and as a person.”

She said next year the team will be looking to make up for lost time. They now know how much these games mean to them, and what it’s like to not have them.

“When we missed out on the opportunity to play this year, it just makes us more grateful for the time that we will get to play. I think we will be anticipating that,” she said. “I think we are going to be more excited than ever to get back out there and compete.” v