First you close my high school.
Now you’re trying to close my college.
I have to tell my story on this.
My name is Marina Sprague and I live in Chelsea, Vermont. I’m a high school senior in the early college VAST program at Vermont Technical College. (the Randolph campus)
The Chelsea Public High School was shut down after my sophomore year, leaving me to figure out what to do for the remaining two years. I refused to travel to a different town for those last two years. I didn’t want to go anywhere else than where I had spent my entire life since kindergarten. My mom agreed to try and homeschool me, even though she still worked most days. It was hard, but we made it through my junior year. Then she told me about the VAST program, and I was hesitant. I finally decided it was a good idea for me so my senior year wouldn’t be all by myself. I played soccer for VTC this past fall and I feel so grateful to have been apart of that community. I’m made friends and I love the teachers so much. I finally felt like my life was turning around and I could move on.
Now I’m hearing about my campus being closed, along with two other Vermont State College campuses. And everything is coming back to me like before. I fought for my high school and it didn’t work. I don’t want to lose this college like I lost my high school. I don’t think I can go through that kind of loss again. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. We speak from experience when we say these communities are amazing. They are not just for education. They are for meeting new people, learning about how the world works, building relationships that will last forever, and engaging in a community full of so many wonderful people. Why is that something you want to get rid of? I’m so done with hearing about school consolidation and how it will save money. Money isn’t everything in the world. And if you think that’s true, I strongly suggest you re-evaluate your morals.  
It’s bad enough that the world is going through a pandemic. Why make it worse? I’m sure that wasn’t your intention, but did you stop and think about this for a minute? All of the students and teachers are trying to make online classes work in a state where wifi isn’t certain. Why add more fire to the flames? I speak from experience when I say that online classes are not easy. I’ve had so many technical problems just based on where my house was built. It’s been a struggle to keep up with my classes physically. Now I’m struggling mentally staying focused because I’m worried about my college campus closing.
I’m so done with people messing up my life. I’m only 18 and this is what I’ve had to go through and am still going through.
My story might not mean much, but I know I'm not the only one.