Evanston Township High School boosters visit 900 graduating seniors during coronavirus shut down

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Graduations are looming for the Evanston Township High School class of 2020.

Like everything else, nothing is normal. So, in an attempt to make seniors feel celebrated, boosters got together Monday to visit every one of the 900 graduating students.

Boosters volunteered to deliver signs Monday morning. School officials were grateful to boosters for ponying up so seniors did not feel forgotten.

"It is a bummer that we can't have events like prom and graduation this year," said Anna Wittcoff with the Class of 2020. "The past four years have been so amazing. I still feel truly lucky to go to a school that cares about us so much."

"I hope they feel the E-Town pride and their town spirit," said Marcus Campbell, principal of ETHS.

"It is a great way to acknowledge us, to see the yard sign. I'm elated, very happy," said Will "Young XP" Chehab.

Chehab is a Spotify-listed rapper headed to Michigan to study economics.

"It is vital because our seniors need to know that for everything they have missed out on, there are other things that we are going to step up and try to fill in some of those gaps," said Supt. Eric Witherspoon.

There are more planned events to celebrate the Class of 2020, including a virtual graduation party. Even so, it all still makes for mixed emotions.

"I don't know how to explain to you how amazing this group is. They are creative, resilient, amazing beyond belief," English teacher Anita Thawani Bucio said.

"It felt nice that they were finally given a little bit of recognition because I feel that they could slip into oblivion by the time they graduate without a celebration," said John Bryan, an ETHS parent and booster.

Even with the recognition, seniors are still missing the quintessential senior year moments.

"I do miss a lot of my friends," said Tyler Bryan, Class of 2020. "Never thought I would say I want to go back to school, I miss those interactions."

"It has been extraordinarily difficult to manage the disappointment of the seniors," Campbell said.