La Conner High seniors have definite plans in uncertain times

The coronavirus pandemic has created a climate of uncertainty, but La Conner High seniors still have firm plans about what they will do beyond the summer.

As in years past, the school’s next crop of graduates will pursue dreams taking them to diverse and in some cases distant destinations.

All this despite the virus crisis that has left schools closed since March.

“Our Class of 2020 remains optimistic in spite of COVID-19,” La Conner Middle and High School Counselor Lori Buher told the Weekly News last week.

Buher said 32 students are earning La Conner diplomas this year.

“Of those 32,” she said, “one will be entering the military. Six of our graduates will begin at either Skagit Valley College or Everett Community College. Eight of our students will seek to enter the trades by taking courses at Bellingham Technical College. Five of our students plan to delay post-high school programs and will enter the workforce upon graduation.

“Twelve of our students,” Buher added, “will start at their chosen university in the fall.”

Thus far, La Conner seniors have been accepted to Washington State University, the University of Washington, Western Washington University, Bellevue College, and the University of Hawaii, Buher said.

College and university-bound seniors have developed backup plans should their chosen campuses remain closed this fall due to COVID-19.

Washington State University has eliminated some of the guesswork, though. WSU will return to in-person instruction fall term, university president Kirk Schulz announced May 7.

That comes as welcome news to La Conner seniors Mary Lou Page and Morgan Sidzyik. Both have been accepted to WSU and plan to room together.

“I haven’t narrowed down a career exactly,” Page said, “but I’m going to be studying psychology.”

That path could lead Page to teaching, social work, or perhaps a role in the criminal justice field.

Sidzyik intends to major in communications at Washington State, whose Edward R. Murrow School is deemed one of the finest in the country.

Western anticipates at least partial in-person instruction in September.

“While there is still much contingency planning underway,” WWU President Sabah Randhawa said last month, “our current expectation is that fall quarter will start in-person as scheduled on September 23 with a hybrid approach that allows for a mix of online and in-person classes.”

La Conner’s Addie Reinstra, a State-caliber hurdler who saw her senior track season curtailed, intends to be on the Bellingham campus this fall.

“She’s going to Western and plans to get her prerequisites for medical school,” her mom, Jaime Stroebel-Reinstra, said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Morgan Herrera will represent La Conner in the UW track-and-field program. Another La Conner senior, Justine Benson, has signed on to study and play volleyball at Bellevue College.

Charlie Cram, son of La Conner School District board member Lynette Cram, knows he is going to college. He just hasn’t decided which one. Cram will head east of the Cascades to either WSU in Pullman or Gonzaga University in Spokane to study business/finance or accounting.

Gonzaga, like WSU, plans returning all operations back to campus in preparation for reopening in the fall.

Josh Gosslin is the lone class member enlisting in the military, signing up for a tour with the U.S. Marines.

Earlier this spring, the option of graduates taking a “gap year” between high school and college or trade school as a result of COVID-19 gained traction around the country. Deferring acceptance to school if campuses were to remain closed and classes held entirely online was widely considered after stay-at-home orders took effect two months ago.

The terrain is different now, however, with fewer colleges and universities delaying the start of fall classes.

Buher said she is not aware of La Conner seniors drastically changing their post-high school plans.

“There’s always some uncertainty among the students as they start their new adventures,” she said. “COVID-19 concerns definitely play a part, but to my knowledge have not overly influenced our graduates’ decisions to date.”