2 minute read

2020: A Class Dismissed – Shelby Lewis

May 6, 2020

Shelby Lewis, a senior at Katahdin High School and longtime singer in the chorus, discusses how the coronavirus has impacted her last months of high school.

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 Shelby Lewis was recorded on April 8.

Shelby was interviewed on April 8, 2020. On that day, these were the top news stories in Maine:

Two more Maine residents die as coronavirus cases hit 537 statewide (By Joe Lawlor of the Portland Press Herald)
Union president calls for Kittery naval shipyard to shut down after worker’s death (By Christopher Burns of the Bangor Daily News)
Maine doesn’t know how many COVID-19 patients are hospitalized (By Colin Woodard of the Portland Press Herald)
Maine says schools should plan to keep classrooms closed for rest of academic year (By Dennis Hoey of the Portland Press Herald)
With social distancing their only tool, Maine health officials prepare for range of grim outcomes (By Steve Mistler of Maine Public)
Shortages of some grocery list staples could last for months (By Peter McGuire of the Portland Press Herald)
Maine receives far fewer Abbott rapid coronavirus tests than expected (By Lori Valigra of the Bangor Daily News)
Central Maine healthcare to furlough about 300 staff (By Patty Wight of Maine Public)
System crash could delay Maine unemployment payments (By Mal Leary of Maine Public)
Maine’s June primary likely to be pushed to July because of coronavirus (By Scott Thistle of the Portland Press Herald)
Angus King calls for investigation of Navy captain’s removal (By Steve Collins of the Sun Journal)
Bar Harbor cancels all cruise ship visits until July 1 (By Bill Trotter of the Bangor Daily News)
Resident, employee test positive for COVID-19 at Belfast’s Tall Pines Retirement Community (By George Harvey of the Penobscot Bay Pilot)

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.