Hurricane Irma proved to be no match for a group of extremely dedicated St. Petersburg High School students.
- St. Pete students kept math a priority during Irma
- Students formed own classroom to study for exams
The students in Robin Ladd’s AP Calculus class take their studying very seriously and when Hurricane Irma started heading toward Florida, they began to fear for their families, friends, and the loss of lessons.
"I think everyone was panicking. A lot of my friends and peers evacuated and a lot of them took their math books because we didn't know what to do," student Abby Grassick said.
When the hurricane forced St. Petersburg High School to close, the students made their own classroom.
Student Abby Grassick got the class together at an activity room in her grandmother’s condo complex where they spent several hours preparing for their AP Calculus exams next May.
Teacher, Robin Ladd said missing more than a week of school would have set the students back and she couldn’t be more proud of their hard work.
"It was a traumatic experience for all of us and to see that they were okay and dealing with their neighborhoods of cleaning up and helping their neighbors. It was just really neat to be together and know they're okay and then to see that excitement and motivation of wanting to do math," Ladd said.
Besides help studying, Grassick said her classmates give each other a sense of support.
"When you go from seeing someone every day and spending all of your hours and after school studying for all these tests, when something happens like this and you don't have contact with them is really emotionally draining," Grassick said.
The students are preparing for an AP Calculus exam next May that could give them college credit.