Geary County community comes together to honor high school seniors
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (KSNT) — For Junction City High School senior Matthew Harley, what hurt the most about his senior year being cut short was not being able to compete in his final high school track season.
“Last year I got injured,” said Harley. “I broke my leg, so I couldn’t really finish out the track season like I wanted to. So this year, I was like yeah, prove people wrong. But then, it got canceled.”
Like Harley and many other seniors, Rebecca Adair knows the disappointment of not ending senior year the way she had planned.
“I didn’t get to graduate myself when I should have,” said Adair. “So, I know how important graduation is.”
She came across an idea on Facebook called “Adopt a 2020 Senior Student”, where people in the community could choose a senior to “adopt” and do something special for them.
“The whole idea is to shower them with gifts and love, just congratulating them and letting them know that we’re here,” said Adair.
She decided to make a Facebook page for Geary County seniors. Harley was adopted by someone in the community he didn’t even know.
“A lot of people understand and they feel for us, not having our senior year, not having our prom and stuff like that,” said Harley. “So, it was pretty nice the lady I didn’t even know made me a cake to help me feel better.”
Some people know the seniors they’re adopting and others are complete strangers. Adair said the kindness and generosity the community has shown truly amazed her.
“Our goal is to have every senior from Junction City High School and St. Xavier posted,” said Adair. “You know, we want all of them to be able to experience the love that’s out there in this community for them.”
To find out how to adopt a Geary County senior or how to get your senior adopted, click HERE.