Back to School and Beyond Part 1: Iron Mountain senior students prepare for final year of high school

IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WLUC) -The school hallway may be quiet right now, but that will change Wednesday morning.

Kurt Adia Ryan a senior at Iron Mountain High School knows the back to school feeling all too well.

“I think I’m prepared enough, to be excited for it,” he said.

Adia Ryan says this year, with the pandemic still evolving, he just hopes his final months of school don’t get cut short because the senior class is one of a kind.

“In this type of area that we live in, we are all closely connected,” said Adia Ryan.

One of his friends, Abby Richer, who is also a senior at Iron Mountain, says she is ready to be back in the classroom. Even with the changing covid situation.

“I am really excited. I am just worried we might get cut short, or we might have to do it from home and I’m really hoping that is not the case,” said Richer.

The Iron Mountain Public Schools Superintendent Jerry Sardina, also hopes students can stay in the classroom all year. He says the district is monitoring the cases in the area and working with the local health department.

While masks are not required in the schools or during sports games and practices, Sardina says that could always change.

“Although we are coming back to school in a traditional sense, giving people the choice to handle the situation, what’s best for them and their families and their student, we are preparing that if the news break and we need to go back and follow certain rules then we are ready to do that,” said Sardina.

Richer and Adia Ryan are both senior athletes and said the majority of the summer has been practicing and preparing for their last year on a high school sports team.

“Everything is normal and there’s no covid precautions this year; it’s really nice, I can breathe during practice,” explained Richer.

On the soccer fields, Adia Ryan says he can’t wait to play the sport he loves, in front of people again.

“The fans should hopefully be back, because I do like playing in front of people, instead of a quiet stadium or anything like that,” said Adia Ryan.

With big goals ahead, these students are taking it one day at a time.

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