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Photography by Ann White
Before she goes to school at MICDS each morning, Zoe Carter-Konate writes down a schedule of the day’s activities. She’s co-head for both the Black Student Union and Rambassadors, a student ambassador program. Carter-Konate is also a member of the track and field team, competing in shot put and discus events. “Right now, I’m also learning how to throw the hammer,” she adds.
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Photography by Ann White
After Ryan Lally graduates from Saint Louis Priory School, he hopes to attend another Catholic institution—the University of Notre Dame tops his list. He also plans to enroll in a pre-med program. “I really enjoy taking biology class, in particular,” Lally says. “I find genetics fascinating.”
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Photography by Ann White
After some encouragement from an administrator, Gracie Maurer joined the mock trial team at Lutheran High School South last year. “It turned out to be a great thing for me,” she says. Looking ahead, Maurer expects to stay close to home for college and is considering majoring in biochemistry or biomedical sciences.
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Photography by Ann White
Even during the pandemic, Etalemahu Tamene found ways to stay involved at Notre Dame high school: field hockey, soccer, Future Investigators of America, Yoga Club… she’s now looking forward to the coming school year. “I feel like we missed out on a lot of opportunities last year, so I’m really excited to go back to school.”
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Photography by Ann White
When she’s not playing field hockey and lacrosse for John Burroughs scool, Eva Kappas stays busy with other passion projects. Her work in the Sunrise Movement, a youth-organized group that raises awareness about climate change, is part of her schedule. Kappas also serves as an editor for The Review, her school’s literary magazine. Last summer, she volunteered for Cori Bush’s campaign and grew interested in a career in politics.
Generation Z is coming of age during a turbulent era of political strife, racial reckoning, climate concerns, and a global pandemic. It’s a challenging time to be a teenager in the United States, but Zoomers are adapting to the world they’re inheriting—and they’re eager to make their mark in the decades to come.
Navigating a Pandemic
Gracie Maurer knew what she wanted, and she was determined to switch schools to get it. Like the rest of her classmates, Maurer made the pivot to online learning when the pandemic surged during the spring of 2020. But she also felt it wasn’t a long-term solution for her. So when she discovered last summer that the St. Louis County public high school she attended for her first two years was temporarily not bringing students back to campus, Maurer decided it was time for a change. She transferred to Lutheran High School South to receive in-person instruction.
“It really helped,” Maurer says. “Even though we were masked and there were a lot of rules—we had to stay 6 feet apart—it was still nice to have interactions with people.”
Ryan Lally knows how Maurer felt. The Priory student was surprised to realize how much he missed the daily grind of high school. Lally says he took campus life for granted: the lunches, the time with friends, the up-close instruction from teachers. “When we were online, school got easier,” he says. “The workload was less, but I was not learning nearly as much, and I didn’t have the same social interactions that I was used to every day. From having some time away, I learned how much I love going to Priory.”
For some students, however, Zoom was a welcome alternative. Zoe Carter-Konate appreciated being able to stay in her pajamas and log into class from anywhere in her home during a mostly online first semester in 2020. But the MICDS junior also missed the structure of classroom learning. “On Zoom, I got distracted easily,” Carter-Konate admits. “Either the dog would be barking or my phone would be right there—and you know nobody is going to be like, ‘Get off your phone!’”
Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s Etalemahu Tamene and John Burroughs’ Eva Kappas wrestled with fears that the pandemic would continue to hover over their high school years, causing them to miss important and sentimental rites of passage, such as school dances and other class bonding events. “I know this past year was tough for the seniors,” Kappas says. “But I’m really excited that the worst of the pandemic seems to be over. I’m looking forward to a great senior year, knock on wood.”
Although learning was sometimes difficult amid the pandemic, the experience did provide moments of introspection. When a family member contracted COVID-19 last fall, Carter-Konate found herself taking on more tasks around the house. “I learned that I’m more independent than I thought I was,” she says. “I learned how to be more efficient.”
Kappas, too, is proud of how she has adapted to the social-distancing era, filling her time with more walks and books. Tamene is glad to know that she’s capable of thriving in the face of adversity. “I learned that I’m a hard worker,” she says. “Throughout the pandemic, I still wanted to be proud of the work I was doing.”
Meanwhile, switching schools taught Maurer a valuable life lesson. “Change,” she says, “can be good.”
A Social Dilemma
It used to be that Kappas was eager to tap her phone screen and open a social-media app: Maybe Instagram one minute, TikTok the next. But earlier this spring, Kappas surprised herself when she deleted both of them.
She was tired of the way that social media made her feel, always comparing herself and her life to those of her friends. It was a waste of time and emotional energy, she determined, so she removed the apps from her phone. “Social media is just there so we can see ads and buy products and make the companies money,” she says. “I just didn’t really want to be a part of that. Especially when all of that consumerism contributes to climate change.”
Maurer can relate. Although she recognizes the good that social media can do for helping people stay connected, she also senses a constant pressure for her peers to broadcast a version of their best selves on apps such as Instagram and Snapchat, regardless of whether that version is accurate. “It’s hard to see that this person has this perfect life, and then you’re like, ‘But why does it feel like I have so much going on in my life?’” she says.
Cyberbullying is another issue that concerns some students. “Sometimes you have these people on TikTok and Instagram who are just really mean to people,” Carter-Konate says.
Tamene sees both sides to the social-media debate. For her, it’s a way to entertain herself when she’s not busy, but she also recognizes the negatives. “People can get really addicted,” she says, “which may be harmful to them.”
“I’m going to sound like an old man,” Lally says. “There are pros and cons. It’s a tool that, when utilized well, can bring about a lot of good. But like any tool, it can also be turned into a weapon.”
Bracing for the Future
The past year has illustrated that many Zoomers are engaged, capable of mobilizing, and concerned about the planet. They want to make changes for the better, whether environmentally, socially, or politically.
Kappas, for one, is optimistic that she and her peers can help deliver solutions. She is a leader in a local hub for the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led grassroots organization that works to address climate change. “One of the things I’ve learned from Sunrise is that the fight for racial equity and opportunity is linked with climate change,” she says. “You can’t really solve one without solving the other.”
Carter-Konate and Tamene concur. They hope that legislators can pass bills not only to address the environment but also to build racial equity. At the same time, witnessing peers participate in Black Lives Matter protests and organize grassroots movements felt to Tamene like she was watching the world change. “It was really powerful to see my generation stand up,” she says. “It was like, ‘OK, we’re bringing this situation up. We’re bringing this problem to the table, and we might actually find a solution.’”
Maurer and Lally are tired of the polarized infighting that has roiled the country in recent years, and they yearn for a more united electorate in the future. “There is so much division in the country right now,” Lally says. “That division covers so many areas of life, but it is rooted in politics. I really hope that as time moves along, we can move away from this extremely partisan system along which battle lines are constantly drawn.”
Patience Is Needed
Maurer sees the pressures her friends face while juggling schoolwork, extracurricular activities, jobs, and the college-admissions process—all while trying to maintain a robust social life. Throw in the pandemic, and stress easily mounts.
“We have a lot going on,” Maurer says. “We’re under a lot more stress than adults think or maybe want to acknowledge. Just be understanding and know that we’re new to this life thing, and we’re going to make mistakes along the way.”
Tamene believes that empathy is crucial. “We’re human, too,” she says, “even though we’re young.”
Lally and Carter-Konate feel like the pandemic flipped their lives upside down. “Everything we’re doing now has never been done before,” Lally says. “We can’t just do things the way that they’ve been done in the past. Everything is different. Every aspect of life has been changed by the pandemic, even as we return to normal. Everyone needs to have a great deal of patience, which, I admit, is something I also need to have with my generation sometimes.”
“We’re trying to keep up with the world and just trying to get into college,” Kappas says. “It can be a lot of pressure, but we’re doing our best.”
