2 minute read

2020: A Class Dismissed – Elizabeth Dufresne

May 22, 2020

Elizabeth Dufresne, a senior at Madawaska High School, discusses having a socially distanced prom in the coronavirus era.

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 Elizabeth Dufresne was recorded on May 15.

Elizabeth was interviewed on May 15, 2020. On that day, these were the top news stories in Maine:

Maine CDC reports 38 new COVID-19 cases, no new deaths (By Joe Lawlor of the Portland Press Herald)
Virus test made by company in Scarborough scrutinized for accuracy (By Joe Lawlor of the Portland Press Herald)
Mills allows lodging operators to host out-of-staters starting June 1 (By Scott Thistle of the Portland Press Herald)
Group homes for people with disabilities are the latest site of coronavirus outbreaks (By Caitlin Andrews of the Bangor Daily News)
Maine CDC investigating COVID-19 cases at Cianbro construction site (By Peter McGuire of the Portland Press Herald)
Cedar Ridge Center in Skowhegan dealing with outbreak different from coronavirus (By Taylor Abbott of the Morning Sentinel)
Ogunquit to reopen 2 beaches, with restrictions on activities (By Dennis Hoey of the Portland Press Herald)
Bordering Maine towns cope with different rules to reopen amid coronavirus outbreak (By Phil Hirschkorn of WMTW)
Road race organizers weighing options on how to hold events (By Nathan Fournier of the Sun Journal)

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.