Collected Item: “Being an International Student During the Pandemic”
Give your story a title.
Being an International Student During the Pandemic
What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?
Screenshot from buzzfeednews.com
Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.
This screenshot I had taken on July 6th, 2020 to send to my mom in a panic. I am an international student from Saint Lucia so I flew home in March of 2020 when Saint Lucia was going through a week long lockdown. My mom did not want me to be stuck in the United States without any family if Saint Lucia locked down for months. I left Florida with two weeks worth of stuff as I thought everything would blow over quickly. Four months later, I was still stuck in Saint Lucia and my visa had expired. Unfortunately, the closest embassy in Barbados was closed. I thought that I would never be able to finish school when I got this notification as they weren't renewing student visas for many people if schools were unsure about their status. The rule was overturned and everything worked out but this screenshot reminds me of a time when I truly saw the effect the pandemic could have on so many lives.
Enter a URL associated with this object, if relevant.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adolfoflores/foreign-students-online-schools-college-ice-deport
Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)
Adolfo Flores and Hamed Aleaziz
Give this story a date.
2020-07-06