Parkland seniors balance grief, activism as graduation nears

PARKLAND, Fla. – Seniors at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are preparing to graduate Sunday, while also grieving for lost friends and navigating tough decisions about the future.

For many seniors, the months since the shooting have been a blur of funerals, marches, voter-turnout events and television interviews. Amid all that, the seniors also must decide: Should they go to college, enter the military, or make a career of the anti-gun activism that’s already driving a national conversation?

Senior Chris Grady had planned to report for duty in the Army and do his part to protect troops overseas. He now sees his fight at home instead, protecting students from shooters.

Senior Tyra Hemans plans to go to university, where she says she’ll give it her all in the memory of slain friends.