One month into her senior year, she tested positive for coronavirus.
"It was very discouraging. I was very stressed out and basically didn't leave my room for two straight weeks. It was crazy," said Kitchens.
She missed cheering at her last first game of the season and she had to routinely sign back into school online again.
"I really couldn't move. My body ached. I had a headache and I had the chills. It was just really, really bad," she said.
Her motivation for school started to wear thin, but one of her teachers helped her get through it.
"It wasn't just me. It was a group effort. It really was the whole class. A group effort," said Lynne Adams. "I was just really impressed with the maturity that she showed and she did that last year, but even more so this year; in that she did not let it defeat her and she did not use it as an excuse not to do work."