3 minute read

2020: A Class Dismissed – Emily Canavan

June 8, 2020

Emily Canavan, one of 17 seniors at Southern Aroostook Middle/High School, discusses how the coronavirus has shaped the end of high school for a small, tight-knit class in rural Maine.

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 Emily Canavan was recorded on May 23.

Emily was interviewed on May 23, 2020. On that day, these were the top news stories in Maine:

Maine CDC reports 65 new cases, 2 deaths from coronavirus (By Rob Wolfe of the Portland Press Herald)
Cases spiking in southern Maine, raising concerns that COVID-19 is resurging (By Colin Woodard of the Portland Press Herald)
Portland’s major hospitals see sharp increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations (By Colin Woodard of the Portland Press Herald)
700,000 Mainers received stimulus payments. More will come by check or debit. (By Jessica Piper of the Bangor Daily News)
Maine and Canada’s border communities feel unique impacts of the coronavirus pandemic (By Robbie Feinberg of Maine Public)
Second inmate tests positive for COVID-19 at Windham prison (By Meredith Goad of the Portland Press Herald)
Maine department of labor says unemployment numbers higher than they appear (By Mal Leary of Maine Public)
Maine small businesses got federal money, now what? (By Clay Gordon of News Center Maine)
‘I just cannot keep doing it’ — A Bangor small-business owner considers her limited options (By Susan Sharon of Maine Public)
Maine mayors push Mills to share federal dollars with cities (By Scott Thistle of the Portland Press Herald)
Central Maine restaurants report varied business during first week open (By Sam Shepherd of the Kennebec Journal)
Fear of public restrooms prompts creative solutions as some businesses reopen (By Tovia Smith of Maine Public)
Downtown Gardiner businesses proceed with caution (By Jessica Lowell of the Kennebec Journal)
For Memorial Day weekend, Mills orders flags lowered, says, ‘We are all soldiers in this fight’ (By Eric Russell of the Portland Press Herald)
Maine churches can re-open next week, but many will choose to wait (From WGME)
Clover Health Care nursing assistant baffled over positive coronavirus test (By Andree Kehn of the Sun Journal)
Great state of Maine air show canceled due to Pandemic (By Darcie Moore of the Times Record)
River City players happy to be back on the soccer field despite COVID-19 restrictions (By Larry Mahoney of the Bangor Daily News)
Maine sports camps work to find solutions to operate this summer (By Travis Lee of WMTW)

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.