In Asheville, high school seniors make key life choices under the stress of Helene recovery

On a recent Friday, Ari Cohen and three friends — all seniors at Asheville High School — gathered to play UNO inside his house, next to a pile of bottled water in his living room.

It had been weeks since they and thousands of other students had been inside a classroom because of devastation from Hurricane Helene, which left a massive tree leaning on Cohen's house. Without reliable cell or internet service, students in hard-hit Asheville have been finding other ways to pass the time — whether volunteering, exploring hurricane-damaged parts of town or playing board games.

“We’ve been hanging out pretty much every single day,” said Nathaniel Durham, one of Cohen's friends. “We haven’t gotten sick of each other yet though.”

The storm has disrupted schooling for students of all ages across western North Carolina, but it came at an especially delicate time for high school seniors who are making important life decisions — figuring out what to do after graduation and applying to colleges. Meanwhile, they are making memories for their last year in high school while processing the disaster's impact on their communities.

Some families evacuated after the storm, enrolling at least temporarily in schools elsewhere. Students trying to complete college applications have run into difficulties with internet, cell service and basic transportation. For others who may have been on the fence about higher education, the crisis has added new challenges.

Remnants of Helene hit on Sept. 27. Asheville, North Carolina’s largest mountain city, was largely cut off as roads were washed away or blocked by mudslides. Six western North Carolina school districts were still closed as of Thursday, according to the state.

The Asheville City Schools system is set to reopen with shortened, four-hour days on Monday, according to its website. Superintendent Maggie Fehrman has said the system would explore drilling wells and bringing in restroom trailers while the city's devastated water system is still being repaired. The Buncombe County Schools system was also scheduled to return Friday on a two-hour delay.

But even with classes resuming, uncertainty remains for Cohen and others. He had planned to graduate early, partly to recover from hip surgery scheduled in December. That's still the general plan, Cohen said, but he's unsure if the timeline will change.

Helene's impact complicates college applications

One of Max Schantz' first concerns was a college scholarship application due a few days after Helene blew into the Southeast. The senior at the School of Inquiry & Life Sciences at Asheville had no cell or internet service through the weekend, so he went to a library that had Wi-Fi to work on his essays. He sat outside the closed building for about two hours with about 80 other people, hoping to use the internet.

Schantz' family left Asheville days later for Miami because his father needed to work remotely. But time was running out for Schantz' application. Then, checking his email at a rest stop, Schantz was relieved to see the deadline was extended.

Later, Schantz decided to discuss the hurricane's impact on Asheville in his application — something he contemplated for a while.

“It was really difficult because I didn't know if a college admissions officer would want to hear that or not,” he said.

Even though school buildings were closed, Buncombe County Schools and Asheville City Schools held in-person sessions in October to help students through the college admissions process. Counselors offered help with writing essays, completing financial aid forms and using the Common App.

Abe Garry, one of Cohen's friends, received help from one of the sessions. He was concerned about getting teacher recommendations in time for his applications, but he said most colleges he’s applying to have been lenient with western North Carolina students.

Another setback came when Helene canceled his date to retake the SAT in hopes of a higher score.

“I was frustrated just because I think that if I did do good, it could have definitely helped me out,” Garry said.

Some seniors say they're ‘definitely not OK’

School disruptions are familiar for the seniors, who went through the isolating COVID-19 pandemic as they transitioned into high school. Now, they're battling a similar issue.

Caroline Barton said things haven't quite been the same since the pandemic, and Helene has added to the feeling of never having a normal high school experience.

She also has grappled with survivor's guilt since Helene, as her home wasn't destroyed like some of her peers'. Her teachers have let students talk openly about their experiences, which has helped.

“I don’t know anyone who has died. My family is safe. Our house is OK. Our backyard is somewhat OK. We have cars that work," she said. "But I’m definitely not OK.”

In the first week back at the independent Carolina Day School in Asheville, Barton said many fellow seniors were stressed about college admissions and what school would bring.

“This is a really stressful time for seniors just in general, and then you throw a hurricane on top of it,” Barton said.

Barton, who runs cross country and track, had to delay a recruiting trip at an Ivy League university when her flight was canceled the day after Helene hit. The next morning, Barton and her mother navigated storm-torn roads to take off from another airport by herself. She is planning to attend the university after the recruiting trip, Barton said, but she knows many classmates are still fretting about falling behind on applications.

There are some silver linings to the hardships from Helene, Asheville High School senior Nathan Flaherty said. Volunteering — something he previously saw as mostly a requirement for college applications — became a part of his daily routine. Seeing people come together has been a “light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

Flaherty's career plans after graduation may have also shifted. He planned to attend flight school to become a pilot, but after Helene, he's now considering combining that profession with emergency management.

It's hard for Schantz to describe how he feels knowing a month of his senior year is gone. As he plans to head back to Asheville, Schantz said he's mentally preparing for “a whole different world.”

“It was just a really fun time before, and I don't know if it will ever get back to that level of just enjoyment,” he said.