During that time, one South San Francisco High School (SSFHS) student started looking for ways to help protect her community against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
SSFHS senior Ariel Lin, who has been a Girl Scout since the sixth grade, teamed up with 71 members of Troop 60852 of Northern California to make face masks.
By late April, she and her friends had produced more than 2,000 cotton masks and had made plans to distribute them to hospitals, airports, post offices, fire departments, and small businesses.
Among the recipients were the teachers and staff of SSFHS.
“I was at school one day, and I noticed many teachers and staff wearing bandanas,” said Ariel, “so I decided to reach out to Mr. Asbra to donate some masks.”
Like many in her class, Ariel missed out on the spring swimming season as well as a chance to travel to Disneyland to perform with the school band.
She also had to settle for a graduation by mail instead of a traditional commencement ceremony, like all graduates of the class of 2020.
Nevertheless, she is still hopeful for the future.
“We started making these face masks, because we realized that masks were running out, and many people couldn’t get a hold of any,” Ariel said. “Even though this pandemic has affected my senior year dramatically, I still feel like it is important we keep ourselves and each other safe until the virus dies off.”
Ariel plans to study at the University of Oregon in the fall and also seeks to join the Ducks’ collegiate basketball team as a walk-on.