2 minute read

2020: A Class Dismissed – Susie Strickland

June 10, 2020

Susie Strickland, a senior at Gardiner Area High School, discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the end of high school — and the final dance recital she didn’t get to have.

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 Susie Strickland was recorded on May 31.

Susie was interviewed on May 31, 2020. On that day, these were the top news stories in Maine:

Contact tracing could be key to stopping future outbreaks. But will Mainers buy in? (By Eric Russell of the Portland Press Herald)
43 more coronavirus cases detected in the state (By Rosemary Lausier of the Bangor Daily News)
More than 30 businesses join federal lawsuit over Governor Mills’ reopening restrictions (By Terry Stackhouse of WMTW)
As summer nears, the Maine hospitality industry braces for the unknown (By Josh Keefe of the Bangor Daily News)
More people on the trails raises health concerns for some (By Hayley Wheeler of the Sun Journal)
Retailers struggle with customer compliance on COVID-19 safety mandates (By Penelope Overton of the Portland Press Herald)
Organic farmers ‘in trouble’ as Maine home gardeners deplete compost supplies (By Nick Schroeder of the Bangor Daily News)
State presses pause on training new police officers (By Matt Byrne of the Portland Press Herald)
Ellsworth small business owner seeing backlash because of face coverings (By WABI)
Pandemic doesn’t stop some Maine yard sales as peddlers get creative (By Gillian Graham of the Portland Press Herald)
Residents react to Houlton council debate on playground closures (By Joseph Cyr of the Star-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.