NEGAUNEE — Most area high school seniors are missing out on many events they can experience only once in their lifetimes — proms, sports banquets and graduation ceremonies, to name only a few.

With the school closures that have taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order still in effect, seniors who normally would have been celebrating baseball victories or studying for in-school exams — yes, some students probably like that sort of thing — are not able to take part in these activities.

However, Negaunee Public Schools is using Facebook as a way of honoring these shortchanged seniors through “Senior Spotlights.”

Each senior has been asked to give the school district information regarding their high school experiences, along with their future plans, NPS Superintendent Dan Skewis said in an email.

“It is our hope to spotlight all of our seniors during the month of May,” Skewis said. “We’re looking for creative ways to honor them, considering they’re missing out on many activities to wrap the school year up.”

Skewis noted yard signs also were created for the seniors, which are being displayed in their homes’ front yards.

Each Senior Spotlight comes with a photo, along with the names of the parents, activities in which the seniors participated at Negaunee High School, hobbies and activities outside of school, and their plans after graduation.

The spotlights are just snapshots of the students in a way, but it lets people know a little bit about their lives.

For example, Ashley Oleksy is president of the Cyber Club and manager of the school store, and belongs to the Key Club, National Honor Society and the yearbook staff.

The daughter of Terri and Joe Oleksy was involved in tap dancing at Superior Dance Academy and enjoys listening to music and “hanging out with friends and family.”

But even though it appears dance and music play a big part in her life, her interests are diverse since she plans to major in accounting at Northern Michigan University.

Alex Munson, the son of Nichole and Bill Munson, participated in football, baseball and basketball, and enjoys swimming and video games. He plans to move from video games to majoring in computer science at Michigan Tech.

Erik Salminen, the son of Katie and Scott Salminen, has quite the list of accomplishments: participating in football, basketball and tennis for four years each, being a four-member of the Negaunee Soccer Club, participating in two musicals and belonging to the National Honor Society.

The senior doesn’t plan to slack anytime soon, and anticipates attending the University of Michigan to study neuroscience and then becoming a doctor.

Chas Kumpula, the son of Mike and Beki Kumpula, took part in chorus and plays, tennis and basketball, and was a member of the National Honor Society. He likes to play Xbox, tennis, beach volleyball and spikeball with his friends.

“I also love the beach, but that’s not really a hobby,” the senior wrote.

His plans are to attend the University of Minnesota-Duluth and major in a business field, either accounting or finance.

Of course, the Senior Spotlights are accompanied by many posts from people congratulating them on their accomplishments — one of the benefits social media allows.

At least one traditional event, though, still is up in the air, Skewis said.

That’s the actual graduation itself.

“We continue to wait to hear if and when restrictions will be lifted,” he said.

Christie Mastric can be reached at cbleck@miningjournal.net.