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Takierra Chappell wasn’t ready to walk away from Selma High School.

When Gov. Kay Ivey ordered the closing of schools K-12 statewide on March 13, students were forced to study online.

For Chappell, the closing of schools was a bitter pill to swallow.

“It’s very frustrating, I’m real disappointed not to see my friends on campus everyday,” Chappell said. “We had a few more weeks left in the school year and it was taken away from us.”

Chappell said she hopes to walk across a stage and officially receive her high school degree in front of family and friends during the spring or summer time.

The everyday grinding of hearing the bell ring to start each class is something Chappell wanted to hear more of until school finished.

“I’ll miss a lot of things at Selma, going to class and talking to my friends everyday,” Chappell said. “I’ll miss playing basketball in our gymnasium at school.”

And Chappell didn’t hesitate when asked which style of learning she preferred.

“I’m doing fine with online learning, but I’d rather be learning in the classroom,” Chappell said.

Chappell was a member of the Lady Saints’ basketball team that went further than any public school in Dallas County. Selma High came up a game short of reaching the Class 6A girls state tournament, losing to Northridge in the Southwest Regional finals at Alabama State University two months ago.

“I’m real glad that we got to finish basketball season before the coronavirus hit,” Chappell said. “I felt that we should’ve gone further.”

Chappell is an honor student at Selma High, and will graduate with a 4.0 GPA.

The next step for Chappell is college. Chappell said she’s considering Troy University in the fall.

“I’m looking forward to attending college,” Chappell said.

Chappell hopes to get that opportunity in the fall, provided schools recover from the COVID-19 pandemic both statewide and across the nation.