Coronavirus: Class Of 2020 Missing Out On Senior Year Milestones, Could See Prom Canceled

AGOURA HILLS (CBSLA) — The Class of 2020 will certainly remember the last year of high school, but it won't be for the spring formal, grad night or senior prom.

With the coronavirus outbreak shutting down schools and creating a need for social distancing — seniors are lamenting the loss of once in a lifetime experiences associated with their last year in school.

"It's just sad. That's just the best way I can put it," Agoura Hills High School senior Caleigh Hollander said. "Knowing that last Friday could've been the last day of my senior year is crazy."

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has warned that schools could remain closed into the summer.

"If school continues to be canceled, we'll miss prom, we'll miss our grad night at California Adventure, we'll miss our senior picnics," she said. "Prom especially is upsetting because you know you're going to go to prom your senior year, you have all these fantasies about it, so its really upsetting that we won't get to experience that."

Ryan Koepnick, a track and field athlete, says he wants to able to compete. Other athletes won't get a chance to show off to college recruiters.

"I don't like it. I really want to compete. We were, like, waiting to good times and we were going to break a record this year, but we can't now," he said.

Other students are unable to make their next big decision — where to go to college. With most colleges shut down and students sent home, high school students like Taylor Levine are not able to get a feel for a university's campus life.

"Watching videos is just not the same as actually being there," Taylor said.

The hope is that the outbreak will abate by June, when most high school graduations happen, but most students seem to be resigned to the fact that health comes first.