AURORA, Colo. — The class of 2020 will certainly have a story to tell about their senior year in high school.
Smoky Hill High School senior Jadon Vaz went above and beyond when he produced a video about all the fun the senior class had in 2020. At first, it looked like what you'd expect — a look at what the students did in early 2020, full of smiles and laughs.
But of course the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. It lead to the end of in-person learning and a mass exodus at Smoky Hill. Jason suddenly didn't have much to work with to conclude the video.
"I just wanted to give people a sense of hope," Vaz said. "I wanted to give them something they could look forward to in the future, that they can actually look at high school as a good experience. Things happened to change and I had to adjust to the change."
The adjustment made Vaz's video more remarkable than it ever could have been in normal times.
The final moments of the video consisted of Facetime and Skype interviews with seniors. Vaz showed the finished product to his parents first.
"We cried. We literally cried," said Vaz's dad, Jason Vaz. "He's a good kid and he's got a great eye. He's got a great vision for editing and storytelling."
Vaz's video has already gotten thousands of views on YouTube. It's also getting lots of attention on Instagram.
"I've gotten a lot of great feedback from classmates," Vaz said. "A lot of them have texted, called to tell me how much it’s impacted them and how much it made them feel emotionally."
Vaz's video became the perfect touch during an imperfect time for his senior class.
"It’s alright that things have changed, but we just have to look forward to the future," Vaz said.
Click here to watch the video.