Trying to navigate the end of high school during a pandemic has been “overwhelming and disorienting,” as Makayla Woods, 17, puts it. “It’s been really confusing for me and a lot of seniors out there,” the Hockaday School student says. “It’s hard trying to plan for something when there are so many variables that you can’t control.”

This month, high school seniors around Texas will celebrate hard-earned milestones and anticipated rites of passage—including graduation, prom, and honor society and Eagle Scout ceremonies—either at a distance, virtually, or both. Many students are experiencing disappointment, grief, and confusion as they try to grapple with this difficult moment in time, as well as what the future might look like. “It’s hard to make sense of all of this, but I’m learning important lessons on how valuable life is and how meaningful the time I spend with my friends and family is,” says Jacob Clarkson, 18, a senior at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas.

Ahead of graduation day, Mary Beth Koeth photographed Dallas-area high school students, like Woods, at their homes, many of them in the garb they would have worn to commencement, prom, and other ceremonies. Their stories capture the range of emotions and considerations students are facing as they emerge into an uncertain world post-graduation. For her part, Woods says she’s been trying to use this moment in a constructive way. “It’s been a good time for me to do a lot of self-reflecting on who I really am,” she says. “I guess that’s a good thing to do before you go to college.”

MeMe Khai, 18, had heard from friends who went to prom last year how much fun she was going to have at hers, at Emmett J. Conrad High School. “I’d imagined a lot of stuff going to prom,” she says. “I prepared a lot. We don’t have these kinds of prom in my country. I’m sad.” In 2012, Khai moved to Dallas from Burma. “My parents decided to move to the United States because in my country there was no free access to education and because it was not safe for us,” she says. Khai worked hard to improve her English and prepare for college. “I couldn’t go to pep rallies and basketball games because I was busy taking college classes,” she says. “I wanted to challenge myself. I doubted myself because my English wasn’t strong.” Next year, she plans to attend Texas Women’s University and major in nursing. Then, she wants to take her skills back to Burma.
MeMe Khai, 18, had heard from friends who went to prom last year about how much fun she was going to have at hers, at Emmett J. Conrad High School. “I’d imagined a lot of stuff going to prom,” she says. “I prepared a lot. We don’t have these kinds of prom in my country. I’m sad.” In 2012, Khai moved to Dallas from Burma. “My parents decided to move to the United States because in my country there was no free access to education and because it was not safe for us,” she says. Khai worked hard to improve her English and prepare for college. “I couldn’t go to pep rallies and basketball games because I was busy taking college classes,” she says. “I wanted to challenge myself. I doubted myself because my English wasn’t strong.” Next year, she plans to attend Texas Woman’s University and major in nursing. Then she wants to take her skills back to Burma.
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
Lizzie Housson, 18, says she’s been looking forward to her graduation from Ursuline Academy of Dallas since before her first day of high school. “Ursuline’s graduation ceremony looks different from a typical high school graduation,” she explains. “Every girl wears a differently styled paper white floor length dress.” She couldn’t wait to share the experience with her mother, who’d also attended Ursuline. But now her graduation has been postponed, and it’s likely that only students will be invited. “I’ve thought about how much this upsets me often," she says. "What if the live stream glitches and they miss me?” This fall, Housson plans to attend Colgate University, majoring in international relations and minoring in either psychology or Spanish. Though she’s received encouraging updates from Colgate representatives, she’s worried about how the pandemic will affect her freshman year. She says she hasn’t fully processed the impact of the coronavirus on her education. “I know I’m missing out, but so is every other member of the Class of 2020. We were robbed of the three months we were told would be the best of our lives,” she says. “I honestly try to refrain myself from thinking about it because it only makes me cry.”
Lizzie Housson, 18, says she’s been looking forward to her graduation from Ursuline Academy of Dallas since before her first day of high school. “Ursuline’s graduation ceremony looks different from a typical high school graduation,” she explains. “Every girl wears a differently styled paper-white floor-length dress.” She couldn’t wait to share the experience with her mother, who’d also attended Ursuline. But now her graduation has been postponed, and it’s likely that only students will be invited. “I’ve thought about how much this upsets me often," she says. "What if the livestream glitches and they miss me?” This fall, Housson plans to attend Colgate University, majoring in international relations and minoring in either psychology or Spanish. Housson says she hasn’t fully processed the impact of the coronavirus on her education. “I know I’m missing out, but so is every other member of the class of 2020. We were robbed of the three months we were told would be the best of our lives,” she says.
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
For his Eagle Scout project, Nathaniel King, 18, built flower beds for a local elementary school. He couldn’t wait to gather with fellow scouts for his court of honor, the official ceremony where he would receive his Eagle Scout neckerchief and badge. But, due to COVID-19, the court of honor was cancelled. “I ended up going in front of the board and presented everything and they were like, Congrats, you’re done now,” he says. “I didn’t get the formal stuff. It’s upsetting." In addition to his court of honor, King will be missing out on prom, graduation, and an art exhibit scheduled at the McKinney Performing Arts Center, where was going to showcase his fashion design. (For prom, King was planning on designing his own suit.) Next year, he plans to attend Baylor University to study entrepreneurship with a minor in fashion and apparel merchandising. Though he’s disappointed about all the missed experiences of his senior year at Imagine International Academy of North Texas, he’s still proud of the hard work that got him to the milestones, especially as an Eagle Scout. “I feel cheesy saying it, but I learned a lot going through it. I learned a lot more than survival skills."
For his Eagle Scout project, Nathaniel Lambert, 18, built flower beds for a local elementary school. He couldn’t wait to gather with fellow scouts for his court of honor, the official ceremony where he would receive his Eagle Scout neckerchief and badge. But, because of COVID-19, the court of honor was canceled. “I didn’t get the formal stuff. It’s upsetting." In addition to his court of honor, Lambert will be missing out on prom, graduation, and an art exhibit scheduled at the McKinney Performing Arts Center, where he was going to showcase his fashion design. (For prom, Lambert was planning on designing his own suit.) Next year, he plans to attend Baylor University to study entrepreneurship with a minor in fashion and apparel merchandising. Though he’s disappointed about all the missed experiences of his senior year at Imagine International Academy of North Texas, he’s still proud of the hard work that got him to the milestones. (Correction 5/26: A previous version of this article stated Nathaniel's last name as King. It is Lambert.)
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
Makayla Woods, 17, picked out her dress at the Prom Dress Extravaganza, an event hosted by the East Dallas Boys & Girls Club, in early March. “I absolutely love my dress,” says Woods, who has been active with the Boys & Girls Club since seventh grade. “I was super excited about prom because at my school, prom is exclusively for seniors, so I’d never experienced a prom before.” On Pinterest, she and her friends had exchanged ideas and hopes for how their day would look. “But unfortunately, with everything going on, we didn’t get to make it that far in the prom planning process.” For now, her school (Hockaday) has postponed prom from April 18 until the end of June. “Hopefully that still happens,” Woods says.
Makayla Woods, 17, picked out her dress at the Prom Dress Extravaganza, an event hosted by the East Dallas Boys & Girls Club, in early March. “I absolutely love my dress,” says Woods, who has been active with the Boys & Girls Club since seventh grade. “I was super excited about prom because at my school, prom is exclusively for seniors, so I’d never experienced a prom before.” On Pinterest, she and her friends had exchanged ideas and hopes for how their day would look. “But unfortunately, with everything going on, we didn’t get to make it that far in the prom planning process.” For now, her school (Hockaday) has postponed prom from April until the end of June. “Hopefully that still happens,” Woods says.
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
To Jesus Segovia, 18, prom meant “the last time that you get to celebrate with your whole school. Seeing them for the last time. Something special.” He planned to throw a small party with close friends and all go to the dance together at their school. But, like so many proms this year, Segovia’s was cancelled, and his graduation (for now) has been postponed until July. Next year, with a scholarship from the Boys & Girls Club, he plans to apply to St. John’s University in Minnesota to study business and entrepreneurship. Growing up, Segovia says his parents, who are from Mexico, were always working, so he lived with his grandparents and spoke Spanish at home. “Every time I speak English, I doubt myself, because I don’t want my Spanish accent to come out,” he says. “I’ve tried to perfect it, but nerves make it worse.” Segovia says things improved when he transferred to Uplift Luna Preparatory in seventh grade. There, Segovia stays busy running cross country and track. “I love running,” he says. “It helps me feel alive. I also volunteer a lot. Giving people hope makes me feel good.”
To Jesus Segovia, 18, prom meant “the last time that you get to celebrate with your whole school. Seeing them for the last time. Something special.” He planned to throw a small party with close friends, who would then all go to the dance together at their school. But, like so many proms this year, Segovia’s was canceled, and his graduation ceremony has been postponed until July. Next year, with a scholarship from the Boys & Girls Clubs, he plans to apply to St. John’s University in Minnesota to study business and entrepreneurship. When he was growing up, Segovia says, his parents, who are from Mexico, were always working, so he lived with his grandparents and spoke Spanish at home. “Every time I speak English, I doubt myself, because I don’t want my Spanish accent to come out,” he says. “I’ve tried to perfect it, but nerves make it worse.” Segovia says things improved when he transferred to Uplift Luna Preparatory in seventh grade. There, Segovia stays busy running cross-country and track. “I love running,” he says. “It helps me feel alive. I also volunteer a lot. Giving people hope makes me feel good.”
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
The week that classes were cancelled was the week that Jacob Clarkson, 18, and his classmates were asking their dates to prom and arranging tables for the dance at his school, Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. He planned to take a friend, the same one he’d asked to homecoming. “I was most excited to see all of my friends together outside of school for the last time,” Clarkson says. His graduation ceremony is still on, but it’s postponed until July. “While I ultimately understand why these cancellations are taking place, I’m still very disappointed by them.”
The week that classes were canceled was the week that Jacob Clarkson, 18, and his classmates were asking their dates to prom and arranging tables for the dance at his school, Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. He planned to take a friend, the same one he’d asked to homecoming. “I was most excited to see all of my friends together outside of school for the last time,” Clarkson says. His graduation ceremony is still on, but it’s postponed until July. “While I ultimately understand why these cancellations are taking place, I’m still very disappointed by them.”
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
Every time the jasmine plant blooms in their backyard, Twa Bee’s mother picks the flowers and weaves them into a crown. “We’ll wear it on our heads, or you can wrap around your bun or braid it in your hair,” Bee, 18, explains. Jasmine reminds them of Thailand, where Bee was born, though her family is originally from Burma. “There’s a lot of jasmine in Thailand, so it’s really, really pretty. My mom and other people from Thailand have it here because it makes them feel at home and it smells really good.” When Bee moved to Dallas, she started participating in Eagle Scholars, a college readiness program, where she discovered that her passion was to become an immigration lawyer. Though Bee wasn’t planning on attending prom, she couldn’t wait for her graduation from Emmett J. Conrad High School. “I worked so hard to graduate, and now it’s cancelled,” she says. “They’re having this virtual thing, which isn’t really a graduation. I wanted to walk the stage.” She hopes to attend the University of Texas at Arlington and major in political science before attending law school. Due to the coronavirus, however, “Some scholarships have been reduced, so it kind of sucks because there’s less money for us.”
Every time the jasmine plant blooms in their backyard, Twa Bee’s mother picks the flowers and weaves them into a crown. “We’ll wear it on our heads, or you can wrap it around your bun or braid it in your hair,” Bee, 18, explains. Jasmine reminds them of Thailand, where Bee was born, though her family is originally from Burma. “There’s a lot of jasmine in Thailand, so it’s really, really pretty. My mom and other people from Thailand have it here because it makes them feel at home and it smells really good.” Though Bee wasn’t planning on attending prom, she couldn’t wait for her graduation from Emmett J. Conrad High School. “I worked so hard to graduate, and now it’s canceled,” she says. “They’re having this virtual thing, which isn’t really a graduation. I wanted to walk the stage.” She hopes to attend the University of Texas at Arlington and major in political science before attending law school. Because of the coronavirus, however, “Some scholarships have been reduced, so it kind of sucks because there’s less money for us.”
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
After her school, Emmett J. Conrad High School, cancelled their homecoming dance earlier this year, Zar Khaing, 18, was especially looking forward to her first prom. She tried on a bunch of dresses, but none spoke to her until she saw another girl carrying the black and white dress pictured here. “I was hoping it didn’t fit her so that I could try it on,” Khaing says. “Man, God was on my side. I saw the dress was on the hanger, and I took the chance to try it on. I loved everything about it.” At prom, she’d envisioned dancing to slow songs with her boyfriend. But now prom has been postponed indefinitely, and she and her boyfriend have broken up. Still, she hopes to attend eventually with friends.
After her school, Emmett J. Conrad High School, canceled its homecoming dance this year, Zar Khaing, 18, was especially looking forward to her first prom. She tried on a bunch of dresses, but none spoke to her until she saw another girl carrying the black and white dress pictured here. “I was hoping it didn’t fit her so that I could try it on,” Khaing says. “Man, God was on my side. I saw the dress was on the hanger, and I took the chance to try it on. I loved everything about it.” At prom, she’d envisioned dancing to slow songs with her boyfriend. But now prom has been postponed indefinitely, and she and her boyfriend have broken up. Still, she hopes to attend eventually with friends.
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
As a first-generation college student and the valedictorian of Newman International Academy of Arlington High School, Emily Carlos, 18, couldn’t wait to deliver her speech in front of her classmates and family. When her graduation ceremony got cancelled, she wrote a proposal to the school suggesting that they organize a drive-in graduation. “We could decorate our cars with the schools we’re going to in the fall,” Carlos explains. “We could honk. We could have a parade.” Instead, the ceremony will be virtual, which, she says, won’t be the same. “It was a shock, and I was just upset about it. My mom and I would always talk about me being on stage,” she says. “I wanted everyone to be there.” This fall, Carlos plans to attend Dallas Baptist University and major in business, with the goal of becoming a lawyer. As disappointed as she is to miss out on senior year events, she tries to maintain a healthy perspective: “It’s a good time to reflect upon the experiences you had and to be grateful. Like, I can’t take everything for granted or think that [an] event will always be there or that I’ll always have my family around. You just have to be really be thankful that everyone is healthy in your family and that parents still have their jobs, things like that.”
As a first-generation college student and the valedictorian of Newman International Academy of Arlington High School, Emily Carlos, 18, couldn’t wait to deliver her speech in front of her classmates and family. When her graduation ceremony got canceled, she wrote a proposal to the school suggesting that they organize a drive-in graduation. “We could decorate our cars with the schools we’re going to in the fall,” Carlos explains. Instead, the ceremony will be virtual, which, she says, won’t be the same. “It was a shock, and I was just upset about it," she says. “I wanted everyone to be there.” This fall, Carlos plans to attend Dallas Baptist University and major in business, with the goal of becoming a lawyer. As disappointed as she is to miss out on senior year events, she tries to maintain a healthy perspective: “It’s a good time to reflect upon the experiences you had and to be grateful," she says.
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
Erin Trojan, 18, of Woodrow Wilson High School, has been dreaming about prom since she was little. She and her friends had already gotten a hotel room, and she was going to go to the dance with her best friend who attended another school. Though she’d been eyeing a dress she loved for a while, she hadn’t bought it yet. “I kind of have not accepted the fact that all of this isn’t happening—graduation, prom, and whatnot,” Trojan says. “My brain is just repressing it at the moment.” But at the same time, she and her friends want to make the most of situation. “Once the quarantine lifts, we’re all going to do a mini-road trip or make our own prom,” she says. “Like, get dressed up and go through the Whataburger drive-thru or something.” This fall, Trojan plans to attend the University of North Texas, majoring in Interior Design. “I’ve been doing art since I was little,” she explains. “My dad would try to get me to do sports and stuff, but I would fake injuries to get out of it. I just wanted to draw and paint.” She continues, “I love the messier mediums. All of my clothes have paint on them.”
Erin Trojan, 18, of Woodrow Wilson High School, has been dreaming about prom since she was little. She and her friends had already gotten a hotel room, and she was going to go to the dance with her best friend who attended another school. Though she’d been eyeing a dress she loved for a while, she hadn’t bought it yet. “I kind of have not accepted the fact that all of this isn’t happening—graduation, prom, and whatnot,” Trojan says. “My brain is just repressing it at the moment.” But at the same time, she and her friends want to make the most of situation. “Once the quarantine lifts, we’re all going to do a mini road trip or make our own prom,” she says. “Like, get dressed up and go through the Whataburger drive-through or something.” This fall, Trojan plans to attend the University of North Texas, majoring in interior design. “I’ve been doing art since I was little,” she explains. “My dad would try to get me to do sports and stuff, but I would fake injuries to get out of it. I just wanted to draw and paint.” She continues, “I love the messier mediums."
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth
Until Mohammad Faroz, 18, moved to Dallas from Afghanistan in the seventh grade, he’d never heard of prom. “But we watch movies and shows, so we kind of learned what it’s all about and why people value it so much,” he says. He planned to go with a group of friends. “I didn’t attend a lot of these events my first three years, so I was looking forward to it. I wanted to go and see my friends before we all head off to college and probably not see each other for the next five years.” But, Faroz continues, “Unfortunately, due to coronavirus, our graduation and prom and all the other senior events we were supposed to have were cancelled. Health is more important right now, so we’re staying home. But I’m kind of sad about it.” By far his favorite extracurricular is chess, which his father taught him to play. “Chess club was the first thing I actually felt comfortable going to and playing with people and showing my moves and learning from them.” Next year, after graduating from Emmett J. Conrad High School, he hopes to work and continue his education at the University of Dallas, majoring in computer science.
Until Mohammad Faroz, 18, moved to Dallas from Afghanistan in the seventh grade, he’d never heard of prom. “But we watch movies and shows, so we kind of learned what it’s all about and why people value it so much,” he says. He planned to go with a group of friends. “I didn’t attend a lot of these events my first three years, so I was looking forward to it. I wanted to go and see my friends before we all head off to college and probably not see each other for the next five years.” But, Faroz continues, “unfortunately, due to coronavirus, our graduation and prom and all the other senior events we were supposed to have were canceled. Health is more important right now, so we’re staying home. But I’m kind of sad about it.” Next year, after graduating from Emmett J. Conrad High School, he hopes to work and continue his education at the University of Dallas, majoring in computer science.
Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth