It's an academic rat race, the sprint towards graduation, and the starting pistol rings at high schools across the nation when the Common App and FAFSA open to 12th grade applicants. College bound seniors, especially ones enrolled in rigorous academic programs like the students at Springfield Honors Academy, incubate in highly competitive settings, vying for selective scholarships, acceptances to prestigious institutions of higher education, and the golden ticket of academic excellence: a high class rank. But in a post-pandemic learning environment, much has changed. In this piece, students at Springfield Honors reflect on their stressors, their ambitions, and the newfound solidarity helping to collectively keep the graduating class afloat. This piece was originally produced for UMass journalism professor Nick McBride's Community Journalism class.
Produced and reported by Rebeca Pereira. This piece includes reporting done by the Amherst Wire's Tristan Smith.
