Sandy Hook survivors graduate from high school
NEWTOWN, CT (WFSB) - They survived one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.
On Wednesday, brave Sandy Hook survivors graduated high school.
Eyewitness News sat down with Matt Holden, who was in the classroom down the hall from the shooting.
About 60 survivors graduated and continued to carry an emotional burden as they started their next chapter.
“It’s not a trauma you can ever lose,” said Holden.
He is often reminded that 20 of his friends and classmates were taken quickly and violently in an act so cruel and heartless, leading to years of unbearable trauma for survivors.
“You’ll see maybe an empty desk in your class, it’s the small things where you know someone should be there and they’re not,” he continued.
It is an unimaginable, painful loss to process for anyone, let alone surviving six-year-olds.
“Eventually most of us were informed in the following days that we wouldn’t be seeing our friends ever again,” he said. “They should be with us in school or at work or around town. Seeing them every single day but we don’t that’s really the worst part of the trauma of what happened.”
Holden is now 17, still wearing an “Angels of Sandy Hook” wristband. He is graduating Wednesday along with 300 other students, knowing that there should be 20 more.
“It’s here and you’re ready, but I think we can’t forget about that there is a whole chunk of our class missing, and so going into graduation, we all have very mixed emotions,” said Lilly Wasilnak.
Emma Ehrens witnessed the unimaginable.
“We ran and just, you know, growing up with those memories of seeing your friends and teachers dying is not something anyone wants to live with, no matter what age,” Ehrens said.
Jenny Hubbard’s daughter Catherine was killed that day.
Catherine should have turned 18 last week and graduated tonight.
Jenny has a message for the graduates, especially the roughly 60 Sandy Hook survivors.
“My hope for the class is that they know that their life has this mark of tragedy that is part of who they are, but it doesn’t define who they’re to become,” said Jenny Hubbard. “It’s so important that we allow them, give them permission to live life as they should.”
A new chapter is on the horizon for survivors.
But even that can be filled with anxiety, leaving home. Hopefully leaving behind some of the pain behind.
“Getting that fresh start in a way, not getting away from Newtown but being able to go somewhere where life isn’t defined by a tragedy 12 years ago,” said Holden.
He is part of the Junior Newtown Action Alliance, pushing for gun safety.
They are on a mission to reduce gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.
A few students, including Holden, met with Vice President Kamala Harris last week in the White House.
“It really felt like she listened to us and what we had to say and she wanted to help us. I think that really gives me some hope that maybe that conversation and others can lead to some real change,” he said. “As long as people we can still try to fight to prevent this from happening again.”
After graduation, he is off to George Washington University in Washington D.C., studying political science.
He wants to be a politician, advocating for more gun laws. He even asked Vice President Harris for an internship.
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