SELLERSBURG, Ind. — The coronavirus has canceled graduations for high schools and colleges across Kentuckiana, but even though local seniors won’t be able to walk across the stage and accept their diplomas this year, neighbors in southern Indiana are stepping in to make sure they still have a special day.
It happened for Arielle Conrad on Sunday, when she was the recipient of a surprise gift.
“It was totally unexpected,” she said.
Conrad is a senior at Western Kentucky, set to graduate in two weeks. But instead of on campus, she’s currently quarantined at her home in Sellersburg with her parents. To make sure her graduation milestone is still celebrated, two kind strangers dropped off a gift box for her filled with snacks, clothes and even items for her cat.
“They were super, super generous and even thoughtful,” Conrad said. “They even bought wrapping that was my favorite color.”
It comes after the coronavirus pandemic canceled her chance to walk across the stage on graduation day.
“All of this has just been really surreal, it’s been a really crazy grieving process for sure, and I think that’s been the case for a lot of my fellow seniors,” Conrad said.
It was with seniors in mind that Ashlee Thomas created the Facebook group that connected Conrad with these generous neighbors. It’s called Southern Indiana Class of 2020.
“I just really care a lot about kids. You know, I can imagine not being able to have a prom, not being able to roam the halls the last couple months of school,” Thomas said. “I just wanted to give them something they could think back to and remember, you know something different that no other senior class has ever experienced.”
Thomas is a step team coach at Jeffersonville High School. She is one of two founders of the group working to make sure seniors still have a graduation to remember.
“The high school kids are my heart, so I just wanted them to know that all their work the past 13 years has been appreciated and hasn’t gone unnoticed,” Thomas said.
The group was just created last week, and it already has more than three thousand members.
“It warms my heart, I’m so happy,” Thomas said.
Parents post pictures or descriptions of their seniors, and others can choose to ‘adopt’ them.
“You can do anything to bless a senior. You can send a card, I think someone sent flowers before, I had no idea what people would do,” Kelly Conrad, Arielle’s mom, said.
Kelly was the one who posted Arielle on the page to prompt Sunday’s surprise.
“They were so generous, everything was just perfect,” Kelly said. “She’s not walking across the stage, but she got to see humanity and people being used by God, and that was a great thing.”
Thomas says in addition to adoptions happening within the group, the administrators are also encouraging members to connect with students who are majoring in their profession to create mentoring opportunities.
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