2 minute read

2020: A Class Dismissed – Amber Sandstrom

June 12, 2020

Amber Sandstrom, a senior at Fort Kent Community High School, discusses the day-to-day realities of finishing high school online amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A photo of an empty classroom with overlayed text reading 2020: A class dismissed.

Born in the weeks and months after 9/11, and graduated in the year of a crippling pandemic, the Class of 2020 lived through some of the most profound change ever witnessed. These young adults missed out on cornerstone experiences that ease the transition from being a child to being an adult. We captured the stories of a class prematurely dismissed.

This video is part of the 2020: A Class Dismissed series. The Maine Monitor is speaking to seniors from as many Maine high schools as possible to tell the story of Maine’s Class of 2020 and how these soon-to-be graduates are dealing with the unexpected developments that come with a pandemic and a disrupted senior year. This video of Amber Sandstrom was recorded on May 29.

Amber was interviewed on May 29, 2020. On that day, these were the top news stories in Maine:

Maine CDC reports 37 new COVID-19 cases, one additional death (By Joe Lawlor of the Portland Press Herald)
Portland’s major hospitals return to peak levels of COVID-19 hospitalizations (By Colin Woodard of the Portland Press Herald)
Lawmakers push for bigger virus response role as Maine projects $525M shortfall (By Caitlin Andrews of the Bangor Daily News)
Campground restrictions violate constitutional rights, Department of Justice says (By Judy Harrison of the Bangor Daily News)
Key legislative committees coming back to State House to take up pandemic response (By Scott Thistle of the Portland Press Herald)
Maine courts won’t resume full operations until September (By Judy Harrison of the Bangor Daily News)
Maine campaign strategists search for creative, socially distant ways to engage young voters (By Mal Leary of Maine Public)
Coronavirus outbreak reported at Tambrands plant in Auburn (By Christopher Williams of the Sun Journal)
Portland schools prepare for year’s end with plan to address learning gaps (By Rachel Ohm of the Portland Press Herald)
Augusta city councilors offer concern about furlough days in budget proposal (By Keith Edwards of the Kennebec Journal)
Gardiner officials look to cut spending, add firefighter-paramedics (By Jessica Lowell of the Kennebec Journal)
Lisbon town offices to partially reopen (From the Sun Journal)
Acadia’s Park Loop Road and several coastal state parks will reopen Monday (By Dennis Hoey of the Portland Press Herald)
State warns owners to renew lapsed vehicle registrations (By Matt Byrne of the Portland Press Herald)

To view more of the day’s headlines, browse our collection of the state’s best coronavirus coverage.

Check out our interactive data dashboard to explore trends in Maine’s COVID-19 cases by county, age, sex of the afflicted individuals and more in charts updated daily with data from Maine’s CDC.

Bailey Beltramo

Bailey Beltramo is an emerging photographer who grew up in Canterbury, New Hampshire. He graduated with a degree in communications from Norwich University in 2017, and continued his education through the Professional Intensive program at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. Both his photo and film work are pursued through a documentary approach and focus on capturing human experience in outdoor environments. His published work has spanned a range of settings from life on a dude ranch in Wyoming to the lessons of a non-profit, nature-based school in New Hampshire.