Virus shatters local student’s graduation dreams

  • Adrianna Yonce from Andrews High School graduated from Western Carolina University in 2018. She was looking forward to her graduation for her master’s degree, which was originally scheduled for Friday.
    Adrianna Yonce from Andrews High School graduated from Western Carolina University in 2018. She was looking forward to her graduation for her master’s degree, which was originally scheduled for Friday.

        Andrews – Friday was going to be Adrianna Yonce’s “big finale.”
        She was salutatorian for Andrews High School in 2016 while dual enrolled at Tri-County Community College, then was one of the 2018 graduates at Western Carolina University. She was set to graduate Friday with a master’s degree in school counseling.
        While the ceremony for her bachelor’s degree was a lot of fun, Yonce wasn’t excited because she knew she still had two years left.
        “I was actually really looking forward to it,” she said of Friday’s scheduled graduation.
        It was very difficult for Yonce to get to this point. She took a full course load while working two jobs, all while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.
        She was on spring break the second week of March when things started changing. The break was extended due to the coronavirus pandemic, then classes were shifted to remote learning. She has not been on her campus in Asheville since leaving for spring break.
        “It’s really hard,” Yonce said.
        For remote learning, her internet connection is not the best, but she said she made it work. Plus, her professors were very good at communicating with the students, and responsive to their needs and questions.
        The university hasn’t set a new ceremony date yet, but announced it will either be in August or mid-December. Yonce isn’t sure how many of her classmates will be able to attend or if she will even be able to attend.
        “I was really looking forward to sharing the day with the friends I made over years,” she said. “It was really hard to not have that closure. … We may be able to keep in touch, but we’re not guaranteed we’ll be able to see each other.”
        Her professors have arranged a videoconference hooding ceremony for this week. Many classmates have their gowns ready for the ceremony.
        Yonce wants to be able to celebrate with her friends and say goodbye. She has already started working as an interim school counselor at a school in Asheville, and hopes she’s to continue working there.
        Yonce knows she’s not the only one of her classmates from Andrews and other Cherokee County schools missing their college graduation. As a counselor, she thinks they all need to find a way to celebrate their accomplishment.
        “It is important, and you deserve to be celebrated,” she said.