Class of 2020: Great Oak Senior Zoe Medranda Says Farewell To High School With Video Tribute

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — It’s no question that the coronavirus pandemic has been devastating for the class of 2020, but from adversity comes strength.

Senior Zoe Medranda found her own way to say goodbye to her senior year at Great Oak High School in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. (Credit: Zoe Medranda)

“Dear class of 2020, I guess things didn’t go as planned,” Zoe Medrana says in a video. “We didn’t get that dramatic last day of school. We didn’t get to say our goodbyes, and we might not get to throw our caps in the air.”

Medranda is a senior at Great Oak High School In Temecula, and like so many, she’s hurting.

“It’s a bummer not to be able to see your friends everyday,” she said. “I’ve spent the past four years with these people. It’s just sad to just know that like I can’t really have the proper goodbye.”

So Medranda is saying goodbye in her own way, using her passion for filmmaking to create a sendoff not just for her, but for the class of 2020.

“I’ve made a lot of videos like this before, so it wasn’t too difficult,” she said. “It was just hard to go through the emotional part of it. I’ve never been really emotional while making my videos or gotten sad when I watch them. But this one, I just feel like it’s just my goodbye to my friends.”

Medranda said that as the days pass, the pain diminishes and that helps her embrace hope for the future.

“If you keep dwelling in the past and dwelling on what happened, you’re not going to get anywhere,” she said. “Once you understand that you are allowed to feel this way, and you just need to pick yourself up and get back at it.”

Medranda will be attending New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts to continue chasing her passion — filmmaking.

If you are, or know of a Southern California senior, and feel that they deserve some extra recognition, complete the online form to be recognized on air.