A Year Interrupted

Recipient of the 2020 Eddie Prize and an Award of Excellence from the Society of News Design.

In the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 closed school buildings for millions of K-12 students across the country, graduating seniors Luis and Faith, like many of their peers, had a big job ahead of them: how to navigate the end of a complicated school year and the beginning of a new one without the regular guidance so accessible to them at their school.

As the first generation of immigrant families to attend college, Luis and Faith want nothing more than to fulfill their parents’ dreams. But with the pandemic upending every last detail of their plans, they wonder what’s in store in for them. As the toll from COVID-19 increases, the calls for racial justice across the country mount, and the challenges of financing a college education are realized, the documentary follows the students from virtual classes through a drive-by graduation to masked arrival at college. It is told largely from their perspectives through personal video diaries recorded over the course of six months.

Role: Co-director, co-producer, camera, editor

For Education Week, 2020