E D U C AT I O N
Zuri Spencer, left, and Giana Gallo stand for a photo on May 13, 2022, outside of Trinity High Schol in River Forest. ALEX ROGALS
Go Big or Go Home: That’s the motto for Trinity High School’s Class of 2022 Two Trinity seniors reflect on life, high school in pandemic By F. Amanda Tugade Staff Reporter
Life before COVID-19 and after. That’s how Giana Gallo and Zuri Spencer describe their high school experience. The two college-bound teens from Trinity High School belong to the Class of 2022 – the ones who got a taste of high school before the pandemic blocked out the tail end of their sophomore and junior years, only to return as full-fledged seniors, trying to make up for lost time. “I remember when the pandemic first started,” said Gallo, 18. “My parents and
I were all glued to our television like just watching [and thinking] when is this going to be over? When is this going to be over?” Gallo recalled seeing Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot flash across the screen, announcing news about COVID, the rise of case numbers and the deaths that followed. Gallo remembered being in class when Trinity officials announced on the PA system that the school was temporarily closing, shifting learning online. She and Spencer were among many asked to gather their belongings from their lockers and head home.
“Like I started crying,” Gallo said. “That day, especially when they came over the intercom, it was just chaos,” Gallo said. “I remember it just being like absolute chaos and running to my locker, looking at everybody to see what they were doing. I just had piles of stuff in my locker. I said, ‘Oh, two weeks, it’s fine. I’ll leave my stuff here.’” Spencer said she saw students with garbage bags stuffed with personal items and quickly thought: Is school over? And as the weeks turned into months, Gallo and Spencer wondered if they would EDUCATION, continued on page 26
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