MACON, Ga. — Every morning this week, we're sharing why so many Central Georgia students are 'Great Grads.' Our final graduate takes us to Macon-Bibb County.
Senior Maddie Kitchens spends a majority of her time at Tattnall Square Academy helping her teachers or on the football field, but one day everything came to a halt.
"I am a very social person and I like to be around people and my friends," she said.
Things changed towards the end of her junior year when Tattnall closed because of COVID-19.
"The last three months of junior year were crazy. I felt like I didn't learn or retain anything. So, I was very, very, very excited that I was going to be able to come back in person because I didn't do well online," Kitchens said.
Great Grads | Tattnall Square Academy senior graduates after having COVID-9
One month into her senior year, she tested positive for coronavirus.
"It was very discouraging. I was very stressed out and basically didn't leave my room for two straight weeks. It was crazy," said Kitchens.
She missed cheering at her last first game of the season and she had to routinely sign back into school online again.
"I really couldn't move. My body ached. I had a headache and I had the chills. It was just really, really bad," she said.
Her motivation for school started to wear thin, but one of her teachers helped her get through it.
"It wasn't just me. It was a group effort. It really was the whole class. A group effort," said Lynne Adams. "I was just really impressed with the maturity that she showed and she did that last year, but even more so this year; in that she did not let it defeat her and she did not use it as an excuse not to do work."
"Without them, I would've just been like, 'If they don't care, I don't care,'" Kitchens said. "And so having them push me to continue to do well was very helpful."
She plans on studying early childhood education this fall at Georgia College.
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