The decision to attend online or in-person school this semester was not easy for many students. FHSD families had to decide whether the safety virtual learning offered was of more importance than the interaction and socialization of attending school on campus. For some, the decision was yes, it is, and for even more the answer was no. However, for some students, the answer has become a combination of both.

FHN senior Eleanor Goldsmith is one of these students. In August, she made the decision to attend school online – except for one period of in-person school to take FHN Choir’s women’s chamber class, Bella Voces, at her home high school. However, this hybrid option wasn’t always her plan. She had first made the decision to attend school totally online. Already working two jobs, she was worried that going in person in addition would maximize her risk of infection as an immunocompromised individual.

“I tend to be very, very cautious because I’m actually asthmatic,” Goldsmith said. “So, if I catch [COVID-19,] I have a higher chance of it being fatal.”

It wasn’t until her choir teacher, Jennifer Oncken, reached out to her that she knew going in-person for choir was an option available to her. Goldsmith had been in Oncken’s Bella Voces class since it’s beginning during the 2018-2019 school year, so being in the women’s chamber was an opportunity Oncken wanted her – and other dedicated chamber choir students – to have. 

“The option was designed… for students like Eleanor who are vital to their chamber ensemble [and have a great] level of dedication and love and passion for being there,” Oncken said. “They don’t feel themselves without [choir,] so we created this option for them so that they would have the ability to do so.”

Though she was excited by the offer, Goldsmith still had some concerns about the safety level of attending a class in-person, especially since the choir room was too small for the students to be safely socially distant. However, the unique precautions the choir classes are taking convinced her that she could attend without any risk to her health. 

“We actually moved the class to the auditorium, and everybody is 6 to 10 feet apart, so even if somebody caught it we would not be contact traced,” Goldsmith said. “So making sure on that front kind of set everything in motion, and gave me the comfort I needed to actually attend.”

However, Goldsmith wasn’t confident in her choice right away. It took until the first day of school for her to feel fully comfortable, especially when she reflected on the complications of online music classes and the lack of social interaction with her close friends virtual school provides.

“I knew it was the right choice for me when I walked into the auditorium the first day, and immediately [thought] this feels right,” Goldsmith said. “I knew there was no way for me to actually continue with Bella just because it’s not a virtual hour, and there’s no reason to set up a whole extra Zoom call for me when I could come in and spend time with legitimate people.”

While her approach to education this year has been unorthodox compared to that of her classmates, Goldsmith believes that she made the right decision and is glad that she decided to be a part of Bella Voces for one last year.

“I had a very big influence, because I was part of the first class of Bella,” Goldsmith said. “If I didn’t see that through my final high school year, I would never forgive myself.”

Making the decision of how to receive your education isn’t an easy one for many students at a time where health and safety has become so uncertain – but Goldsmith knows the importance that even a singular class can hold for students, and encourages her peers to take the risk. 

“You should take the chance,” Goldsmith said, “Especially if you are an upperclassman and if it’s something you love. Because personally… I know that I wouldn’t have ever been able to be happy knowing that I threw something I love away like that.”