Item
Grace Neugebauer Oral History, 2020/05/14
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Grace Neugebauer Oral History, 2020/05/14
Description (Dublin Core)
This interview was completed for a class project at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. The project was to contribute to a COVID-19 database while also working on a university database to show the importance of rapid response collection. The class was a research methods course called History 486 taught by Dr. Cheryl Jimenez Frei.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Partner (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
audio interview
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Collection (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
07/21/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
10/21/2020
03/01/2021
04/16/2021
05/01/2022
09/07/2022
01/10/2023
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
Jack Nord
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Grace Neugebauer
Location (Omeka Classic)
54702
Eau Claire
Wisconsin
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
Audio
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:40:51
abstract (Bibliographic Ontology)
In this interview, Grace Neugebauer, a nursing student at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, talks about her experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. After University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire moved to online classes, Grave moved to live with her father in South Dakota. She talks about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted her schooling, her family, and the response of the people around her. Additionally, she also talks about how she thinks the pandemic and self-isolation has generally impacted people and her opinion on the recent anti vaccination movement as whole.
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
Jack Nord 0:04
The time is 2:15pm the date is May 14, 2020. And just as a reminder, any answers you provide will be included in a publicly accessible archive. So please do not share any information that you would not like to be publicly available. So we'll begin with some background questions. What is your name? And if you're comfortable, do you mind sharing your age and ethnicity?
Grace Neugebauer 0:31
My name is Grace Neugebauer and I'm 20. I'm white.
Jack Nord 0:37
I'm in general, where do you live?
Grace Neugebauer 0:40
I go to school in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and I have house there.
Jack Nord 0:46
And then do you have family that live in Minnesota?
Grace Neugebauer 0:48
Yep.
Jack Nord 0:48
Where in Minnesota, just in general in?
Grace Neugebauer 0:50
Apple Valley.
Jack Nord 0:52
Okay. Um, when you first learned about COVID-19, what were your initial thoughts about it? And how have your thoughts changed since then?
Grace Neugebauer 1:01
At first, I wasn't really sure what to think about it. I, initially many people were saying that it's similar to the flu. So that's kind of what I thought at first. And then as things progressed, I realized that it's different and yeah.
Jack Nord 1:21
What thoughts have concerned you the most about COVID-19?
Grace Neugebauer 1:24
I guess things that have concerned me the most is just how people are going to be staying safe throughout this and our economy, how it will be effected through all of this.
Jack Nord 1:39
What are your primary what are the primary things you do on a day to day basis, for example, your job extracurricular activities, how has COVID-19 affected that?
Grace Neugebauer 1:49
So normally, on a regular day, I would go to class at the university and then go to work at a daycare center and then sometimes babysit in the afternoons and then just kind of come home and do my normal thing. And COVID has affected that in a lot of ways. So, classes for the University are all online, which is a big change. And the daycare center I was working at because of COVID has reduced staff and reduced number of kids. So I made the choice to come and stay at home with my dad instead of staying in Eau Claire.
Jack Nord 2:26
And, in general, where are you staying with your dad?
Grave Neugebauer 2:30
It's in South Dakota.
Jack Nord 2:32
So now we can get on to some questions pertaining to University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, um, and just answer these to the best of your ability. What is your, what is your major at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire? And what year are you in?
Grace Neugebauer 2:46
I'm a sophomore and I'm a nursing major psychology minor and a certificate in American Sign Language.
Jack Nord 2:52
So has this has COVID-19 affected you in any way when it comes to your minor? Not your minor, sorry, your major.
Grace Neugebauer 2:59
Um, not so much of my major because I haven't started nursing classes yet, I start them next fall. But it's just made it so things are online, which is a little bit difficult sometimes.
Jack Nord 3:11
So you're in the nursing program, right? Mm hmm. So do you know any nursing majors now that have been affected by it?
Grace Neugebauer 3:18
Yes, so there has been people have been struggling because with nursing, typically you would have clinicals that you would have to go to and the clinical sites are obviously not able to allow students to come in. So that has been a big change for a lot of nursing majors.
Jack Nord 3:36
Where do you most nursing majors do their clinicals?
Grace Neugebauer 3:39
Many do them at like nursing home facilities at first and then believe they move into different clinics and things as the program moves on.
Jack Nord 3:50
So has the change on campus from in class learning to online learning affected your housing situation?
Grace Neugebauer 3:56
Yes, only because I chose to come stay with my dad instead of staying at my house in Eau Claire. Wouldn't have had to do that but it seemed like he lives in a very rural area. So it seemed the most secluded and like a safer place.
Jack Nord 4:11
It definitely has affected a lot of people on campus to you know, having forcing people to leave and go home.
Grace Neugebauer 4:16
Mm hmm.
Jack Nord 4:19
How's the transition from in class learning to online learning been for you?
Grace Neugebauer 4:23
Um, for me, personally, I have a little bit more of a relaxed semester this semester. So, since my classes aren't too terribly difficult in comparison to what I've had before, hasn't been too much of a challenge. It is hard to stay on track and just to be self motivated to get everything done. Whereas in class, there's a little bit more encouragement from your professors and more interaction with your peers which is helpful and with online learning you don't have that as much.
Jack Nord 4:47
So you said you were studying ASL, can you say what that is?
Grace Neugebauer 5:00
American Sign Language. So that has been actually affected quite a bit by e-learning. Because it's a very visual language and something that's very interactive. And so it's to me, I don't learn it as well online because you have to watch videos and things and it's just a different environment than doing it in person.
Jack Nord 5:23
Um, do you feel that you have gotten the most out of your classes after the university shifted to online learning?
Grace Neugebauer 5:31
No, I definitely feel like I got more out of my classes when they were in person, mostly because you get a lot more interaction with professors and with your peers. And I just learned more like, for example, my sing language class, if you're in class, you are signing with your peers and with other people and when you're doing it online. You're just watching the videos and doing the assignments and kind of going through the motions more so than really, truly learning the things you're being taught.
Jack Nord 6:01
So when it comes to ASL, what are some things that your teacher has implemented to try to better your learning situation.
Grace Neugebauer 6:09
So she has posted videos of herself signing different things and videos from our workbook and then we're just kind of using our book more so than we would have before to learn things, but she does do some videos of herself signing with little instructions and things in there. And same thing goes with my other classes. In my research methods class for psychology, we're doing a research paper and she's been posting a lot of videos on how to do things and she did some like lectures through videos online and then she's been doing a lot of videos showing us how to do all the correct formatting and everything for our paper.
Jack Nord 6:50
So a lot of ASL teachers, um, they are deaf, correct?
Grace Neugebauer 5:56
Uh, many are.
Jack Nord 6:57
So has that affected your ability to communicate through a web based platform with your professor?
Grace Neugebauer 7:05
It is challenging in my deaf culture class, we have an interpreter for that class because students of all different levels of ASL can take that class. So for example, I'm an ASL four but somebody who is in ASL one could also take that same class. So they have an interpreter just so everything is equal, and everybody can understand things. And that has been a little bit challenging. So things have shifted to be online and we have Zoom lectures once a week. Um, but because there's an interpreter, sometimes it's hard because the interpreter will have to pause because she didn't understand something or the video lags or something like that, or there's issues with the sound or some things like that that can sometimes make it a little challenging.
Jack Nord 7:53
Do you feel that the response from campus officials on COVID-19 was appropriate?
Grace Neugebauer 7:59
I guess so, yes. I think that they were being as cautious as they could. And that was wonderful. And it was nice that they gave professors extra time to try to prepare for classes online.
Jack Nord 8:13
Now, I don't know about you, but from my perspective, the response was rather quick from when they started, you know, implementing the meetings to, you know, instituting, you know, we'd leave, we left a week early. And so that was very quick. Do you agree, or do you want to elaborate on that?
Grace Neugebauer 8:38
Um, yeah, I agree that it was pretty quick. I feel like their decision was heavily influenced by what other colleges were doing around the country.
Jack Nord 8:50
Or within the UW system.
Grace Neugebauer 8:52
Or within the UW system. Yep. So um, and I guess I don't really know my thoughts on that. I don't know what I would do if I was in administrative position. So I don't really have a strong opinion about whether the decisions they have made if they did everything right or not, or I think they did the best they could in a tricky situation.
Jack Nord 9:16
What do you think could have been done better when the university reacted to COVID-19?
Grace Neugebauer 9:21
I think one thing they could have done much better was communicate with the students better. Because when they first decided to, they had first decided to let us go a week early before our spring break was supposed to start. And then there was a week after that, where we also were going to not have class but the first initial email that was sent out about that was so, so, so confusing, like people didn't know we were having classes online or just completely canceled altogether or how it was gonna work. So I think that them having clear communication could have been really beneficial. I guess apart from that, I would just say communicating in general with you know, addressing student concerns and taking what students have to think about the situation a little bit.
Jack Nord 10:14
In reference for the recording the UW Eau Claire campus. We got out a week early before spring break and then we had an extra week after of online classes to prepare -
Grace Neugebauer 10:29
No, those were just canceled completely.
Jack Nord 10:30
Cancel classes and then an extra week.
Grace Neugebauer 10:32
And then an extra week or two that was supposed to be online. And then they were gonna discuss whether or not we would go back to school.
Jack Nord 10:40
Do you remember there wasn't they came out with that decision rather early than when they said they were gonna. What do you feel? How do you feel about that?
Grace Neugebauer 10:49
Um, now I feel like that was a the right decision at the time I struggle to understand why they made that decision so early. I had hoped they would wait and just kind of see where things were at. And I would hope that for fall semester, I know some places have chosen to cancel classes for fall semester already. And I'm hoping that the university waits to see a little bit more where the situation is at that point rather than making that decision so early.
Jack Nord 11:18
If UW Eau Claire didn't meet in the fall, would that affect your nursing program at all?
Grace Neugebauer 11:26
Yes, it would, because I would be in clinical classes and things like that. And I think from perspectives of courses like that, it's really hard to do those online because the things you learn are very hands on and things that are very difficult to do from home.
Jack Nord 11:43
So are there programs out there where you could do some of your nursing classes online to make them somewhat hands on or is it really a dedicated you have to be in the in the classroom type of thing?
Grace Neugebauer 11:56
You know, I'm not really sure I'm thinking like for your sciences class they have sometimes they have online simulations you can do. I'm assuming with nursing, there's maybe some online simulations that you could do. But an online simulation is not even comparable to what you would do in a classroom.
Jack Nord 12:14
So is there anything that professors have done in class that has helped you transition from in class learning to online learning?
Grace Neugebauer 12:23
My prepper professors have been very organized, which has been really helpful with the transition. They have been really good at communicating and getting off schedule on a timeline of when things are going to be do. My research methods professor has been exceptionally just great with this whole thing she has done. The class I'm taking online in the past, which I think really helped her to be prepared to do this. And she's made communication really clear and she's done a lot of instructional videos on things rather than just trying to explain it through an email or canvass announcements. So that has been really, really helpful.
Jack Nord 13:03
Do you know anybody and you don't have to give names that have been psychologically affected by the shift to online learning?
Grace Neugebauer 13:10
Yeah, I think a lot of people have really struggled with it, um, people get very, very overwhelmed with online learning. And some people just have really struggled and been much more anxious and much more stressed out with it.
Jack Nord 13:25
Well, then definitely, you know, and on campus, you're in a place of learning, but when you go home, you have a lot of distractions, and a lot of people don't have very good home environments. So that's definitely.
Grace Neugebauer 13:38
Yes, absolutely.
Jack Nord 13:40
So do you have anything else you want to comment on with in relation to UW Eau Claire, or any other UW system?
Grace Neugebauer 13:48
No.
Jack Nord 13:49
Okay. So we can get into some employment questions now. Has COVID-19 affected your job? And, if so, in what ways?
Grace Neugebauer 13:58
Yes, it has so the childcare center I work at the state of Wisconsin made it so that there was a limited capacity. So they could only accept a certain number of kids, which was much less than we would normally have. And with that only a certain number of staff members were allowed to show up. And I chose to come home to my dad's house rather than to work. But if I would have been able to work, many of my co workers have experienced reduced hours. And they've changed things. They've made it so that when you come in you, every kid and every staff member and parents and everybody has to get their temperature taken in the mornings when they drop their kids off, and they've done a lot of changes like that to try to make things a little bit safer.
Jack Nord 14:47
So has COVID-19, has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the employment of people you know? In what ways? This could be as simple as people working from home.
Grace Neugebauer 14:57
Yes, COVID-19 has definitely affected people. I know, many people in my family have had to start working at home when normally they would go into an office every day. I know many people who have been laid off from their jobs and had to go on unemployment because of COVID-19. Their employers just weren't doing as well or different things like that, um, I know many people, there's a lot of changes in the way, like their shifts changed. For example, my brother, he is in the military and they had changed things to be so that they would have 12 hour shifts, and so his usual shift and then they made it so that it would be a week on and a week off so that there would be more separation between the people working.
Jack Nord 15:51
What other limitations does your brother have, if you don't mind sharing?
Grace Neugebauer 16:00
I'm not really sure. I, I know that for a while there he couldn't he, will, he's not allowed to go more than an hour away from, from where he lives where his base is at, and for a while there he was. I don't remember what it was called but they weren't allowed to consume any alcohol or anything like that and they weren't allowed to travel anywhere and they were pretty much like couldn't do much of anything but go to work and they were supposed to go home.
Jack Nord 16:31
So now we can get into some family and household questions. Um, how has COVID-19 affected you and or your family's day to day activities?
Grace Neugebauer 16:42
Um, I guess for me, I because I've moved back in with my dad rather than seeing my house in Eau Claire that has made it so that I don't go to class and I don't go to work and so I spend different because I live in a rural area and my dad farms and owns his own business. He is still actually able to go to work because he worked does everything outside. So it hasn't affected that too much. But all my cousins they can't go to school and just different things like that. I guess it's different. We don't go to the stores as much and try to do grocery shopping less frequently and that kind of stuff.
Jack Nord 17:26
Um, how are you managing day, day to day activities in your household, so the one we're at now?
Grace Neugebauer 17:38
I guess I've just been trying to stay busy. Been trying to focus on homework and-
Jack Nord 17:45
Are there any projects that you've been doing to try to stay busy?
Grace Neugebauer 17:48
Um, yeah, so I have been making a lot of beanbag or cornhole boards for people different neighbors have wanted them and I made some for myself, some for my dad, and then felt them and painted different designs on them different patterns depending on what people wanted. Been doing a lot of puzzles and just cooking and baking and things like that to try to stay busy.
Jack Nord 18:15
Has the COVID-19 outbreak affected how you associate and communicate with friends and family?
Grace Neugebauer 18:20
Um, yeah definitely has. In the past, I had roommates that I lived with and I talked to them every single day and you know, would come home on the weekends and now I'm living at home so I see my family more frequently. But you know, my friends and stuff we've been just trying to stay in touch through texting and I FaceTime with my roommates pretty frequently and FaceTime with my mom pretty frequently because she lives in the Twin Cities so I haven't been seeing her much. I guess that's about it.
Jack Nord 19:00
What have you, your family and your friends done for recreation during COVID-19? So you said that you've been doing making cornhole boards, which is a great activity because you know, you're outside you can stay six feet apart. Um, but what are some other things you've been trying to stay busy? You know, we're, we're outside, right? Well, you know, we're in an area where we can go outside, and there's not a lot of people around us. So are there any specific things that you've been doing?
Grace Neugebauer 19:25
Yeah, I've been outside trying to walk more sidewalk about four to six miles a day, depending on the day, um, and then helping my grandma in the garden and because my family farms we've been busy doing a lot of planting things. And other things like that. I'm just been trying to play games and my family and I we play a lot of dominoes, or we've been playing cornhole because I've made the boards Just different, as much as things we can do to stay busy.
Jack Nord 20:05
So now we can start getting into some community questions. How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected your affected your community? And remember, you may be part of many communities, including school club, church job, etc. You're welcome to speak about all of these.
Grace Neugebauer 20:22
Yeah, so we've already talked about school a little bit. So we won't say too much about that. But I guess just that, you know, things are online, and that has changed quite a bit. And with my job, you know, they've changed a few things there. I know, even though I'm not there, I still talk to some coworkers that I've been there and they're just doing a lot more precautions to make sure everybody stays safe. In my church, we have not been having church because of COVID. So that is quite a change. Church has been online. So they've been asking people from the congregation for Do readings and things in their home and send them to our pastor and she puts it together in a really nice video. Um, I think so that's been very different.
Jack Nord 21:13
How long have you been not going to church for
Grace Neugebauer 21:16
We haven't been going to church since they canceled kind of the week I came here to South Dakota, which was like probably two months ago, maybe a little more about eight weeks. Yeah, maybe a little more 10 maybe 10 weeks.
Jack Nord 21:40
So, are there other churches in the area that are continuing meeting as a congregation?
Grace Neugebauer 21:47
Um, yes. So because the State of South Dakota never issued any kind of a safer home for the entire state. There are churches that chose to go against the recommendations and continue to hold church and they feel very strongly that that is the correct decision as long as they're, you know, sitting apart in the church and things like.
Jack Nord 22:13
So within the church, when they're meeting as a congregation, they still practice social distancing, and things like that?
Grace Neugebauer 22:21
To my knowledge, they I've heard from other people I know that go to that church that they sit apart and things but I know for a while they were still using what's called the common cup a communion. I don't know if that has continued or not. Same with like, passing of offering plates or things like that. I'm, I'm not really sure because I don't go to church at that particular place. But I do know they have still been holding church.
Jack Nord 22:49
And how do you feel personally about gatherings of people like that?
Grace Neugebauer 22:54
Um, I think that you know, you don't have to be like in church to all still worship, I think that you can have God in your own home. So I don't, I feel like you are putting people at risk by having those services. But at the same time, if you have them, people can choose not to go. And that's each person's individual choice to choose to go to church and have that risk for themselves and everybody else and I guess if that's a choice they can live with. It's not a choice I would make. But
Jack Nord 23:33
So are you a member of any clubs?
Grace Neugebauer 23:38
Ah, not too much. I do some things through the school, but those have all kind of been canceled.
Jack Nord 23:34
So clubs can include, I would say, if you're a teacher's assistant, or things along that nature, too. If you are, you know, you can elaborate on that too.
Grace Neugebauer 23:57
Yeah. So I actually am a teacher's assistant. For my anatomy and physiology class, and that's a good example of a class that has changed quite a bit due to COVID. So I took that class. It's a two semester class, I've taken that a couple semesters. And for lab, you would typically have lab in person and you'd be able to use the models and exams and everything. You weren't allowed to use your notes and weren't allowed to do any of that. And online is very different. I think many students have been handling it pretty well. That's a very intense class. So for me, I think I would struggle to have it online because it would include a lot of self motivation, but the students have been doing pretty well with it. And as a TA it has made it so I used to go to lab with the students and then go to open lab in the library and help out students and answer their questions and, you know, help them find things on the microscopes and Explain different concepts that they were struggling to understand. And online, I don't really get a lot of students coming to me and asking me questions because they're able to use their books and their notes on the exams, because there's not really a way for the professor to prevent that from happening. So they've just kind of opened it up to be more of an open book format. Say, I haven't been getting as many questions and I don't get to, you know, I was just starting to build relationships with the students in my lab. And now that's not happening. So that's a little bit of a bummer.
Jack Nord 25:33
You know I would agree with you on that. I'm a TA also in the benefit of working as a TA is you really get to meet a diverse group of people and work with them, and also build skills personally. And it is disappointing that, you know, we weren't able to really meet with students and continue to build relationships.
Grace Neugebauer 25:43
Yes.
Jack Nord 25:54
So how are people around you responding to COVID-19 so this could be family. Friends when he you know, when you go to the grocery store, what are you seeing? When you go to Menards? What are you seeing, you know, home improvement stores, things like that?
Grace Neugebauer 26:12
Yeah, so, um, I've noticed many people, you know, it really varies. So, you know, some people are very afraid and don't want to go out. And if they do, they wear a mask and gloves and they're very, very cautious. Other people go to the stores and act like nothing is happening. We've been to the source and seem like little kids crawling around on the floor and things like that. Um, so some people just really seem to not be affected much. And as we've talked about my church, you know, our church had canceled church and we haven't been congregating together. But other churches have and people still choose to go. So I guess it just you know, everybody's opinion is a little bit different I guess.
Jack Nord 27:04
When you go to the stores are you seeing a shortage of anything in particular?
Grace Neugebauer 27:09
Um, yeah, so I my grandma lives very close and so she does a lot of baking and I've been baking a lot with her. For a long time there was a big shortage of flour we were really struggling to find flour and my grandma has always made her own homemade bread and buns and everything and so that shortage of flour was very just surprising I guess because many people I don't think a lot of people even really know how to bake things that much with flour, so it was surprising that they were out of that. The shortage of toilet paper everybody knows about that they were selling it at one point for $1 per role in the stores which was kind of crazy to me. Um, there was for a while like a shortage of eggs were just very random. So we just got them from some neighbors instead of buying the expensive ones at the store.
Jack Nord 28:03
Now, being in the community around here, I've noticed a lot of people are getting nervous about a shortage of meat. Can you reiterate a little bit on that?
Grace Neugebauer 28:13
Um, so farmers around here specifically in the pork industry because the pork plant in the city nearest here.
Jack Nord 28:23
The Smithfield pork plant right in Sioux Falls.
Grace Neugebauer 28:25
Yep.
Jack Nord 28:26
South Dakota.
Grace Neugebauer 28:27
It closed down for a while, that has affected a lot of local farmers. So, unfortunately, farmers have had to try to empty their hog barns on their own and try and just sell to people in the community and people they know, which has been very difficult because some people have to just have to get rid of their pigs and they don't get money for them and that's been really hard to watch. You know, neighbors and friends and family have to go through that. We have purchased some hogs from a neighbor and we had them butchered at a local at a local Walker, just to try to support the local people a little bit more. And I think that as things start to open back up, there won't be people think there's going to be a shortage and a source there hopefully will not be.
Jack Nord 29:25
So have you seen people around you change their opinions, day to day activities or relationships in response to the pandemic?
Grace Neugebauer 29:32
Yeah, I know a lot of people who you know, are on Easter, for example, chose not to get together with their families because they live in different areas or whatever and just didn't want to risk that. For me, all my family lives right next to each other. So we all see each other every day. So I was able to still go on with that that celebration still look different because typically we would go to church and celebrate there and that wasn't an option. Yeah, I don't know. Other than that, you know, people trying not to go to the stores as much and some people are not as cautious just depends.
Jack Nord 30:11
So when you go to the stores, is there anything preventative measures that stores have implemented?
Grace Neugebauer 20:16
Yeah, so many stores have the plexigrab, glass screens to try to protect their employees. Many of them I've noticed more cart wipes where they used to not have them. We went and got my grandma some flowers to plant and the greenhouse had said, you know, like limit of two people in the greenhouse at a time. A lot of stores have the X's for where people should stand so that they're six feet apart. And, you know, you can only enter through one door and exit through another whereas normally you'd be able to go however you want or one-way aisles in the grocery store. Different things like that.
Jack Nord 30:58
So self-isolation. And flattening the curve have been two key ideas that have emerged during the pandemic. How have you your family, friends and community responded to requests to self-isolate and flatten the curve?
Grace Neugebauer 31:10
We have been self-isolating quite a lot. Just being out where my dad lives I'm very isolated. So we don't really see anyone but each other. And you know, if we have to go to the store or something my grandma sewn masks and we have been using those when we go out in public. Just different things like that. Just, you know, we see the neighbors, you know, wave to them, or if we are talking to them, it's outside so that we're farther apart.
Jack Nord 31:42
Um, has COVID-19 changed your relationship with family friends and community? And if so, in what ways?
Grace Neugebauer 31:48
Um, I don't know. I guess it's made things different by relationships haven't been necessarily like, harmed by it, but just different, you know, more things over the phone. or things like that rather than gatherings in person.
Jack Nord 32:05
So now we can get into some health questions. Have you or anybody you know, gotten sick during the covid 19 outbreak? What has been your experiences in responding to the sickness?
Grace Neugebauer 32:17
Yes, so a family member of mine, he flown a plane shortly after everything with COVID kind of began and then he got sick. And another one of my family members picked him up from the airport so that they both had to quarantine and he actually got tested and he was negative,
thankfully, but that was just kind of an interesting experience. You know, it was kind of scary.
Jack Nord 32:44
In what ways do you think that COVID-19 is affecting people's mental and or physical health?
Grace Neugebauer 32:49
I think a lot of people are struggling with their mental and physical health during this time. I think I'm not interacting with people as much has been really hard for some. And I think that there's a lot of people who just really need that interaction with others and aren't getting that. They think there's a lot of people who live in homes that are abusive. And those people, I imagine are really struggling, even more so than they already maybe were, because they're stuck at home and can't go to school or work or wherever it was that they went to get away from those relationships that were unhealthy.
Jack Nord 33:30
So now we can get into some government related questions. Have the munic, in this question is a unique question when it pertains to South Dakota, which is the state we're at now. Um, how have municipal leaders and government officials in your community responded to the outbreak?
Grace Neugebauer 33:48
So I have kind of a interesting situation because I have a home in Wisconsin, my mom lives in Minnesota, and my dad lives in South Dakota and Minnesota. Wisconsin have responded in similar ways with stay at home order. and some things like that, here in South Dakota, the governor, she chose not to have a stay at home order during this time. And I think the main reason behind that is because the state is much more rural and very, very spread out. So some parts of the state had very, very few or no cases at all. And so she kept the state open to try and keep small businesses and things like that afloat. Whereas in those bigger communities, they closed a lot more things.
Jack Nord 34:32
Such as Sioux Falls, which didn't really close and became one of the fastest growing hotspots in the nation.
Grace Neugebauer 34:39
Yes. So Smithfield, the pork plant we had spoken of earlier, they got hit pretty hard. And then because of that, in Sioux Falls, specifically the Sioux Falls. Government officials close down bars and restaurants and non essential places like that, but the rest of the state that wasn't experiencing so many issues, they remained open, and many people have chosen to social distance despite that. Yeah.
Jack Nord 35:15
Do you have any thoughts on how local state or federal leaders are responding to the crisis differently?
Grace Neugebauer 35:20
Um, I guess, I don't really have too strong of an opinion, because I'm not in those positions. So I guess I'm just thankful that I am not the one having to make those decisions. Because I think that regardless of what decisions are made, people are going to not agree with decisions to make you decide to have a stay at home order in your state. There are people who are going to protest that and if you decide to keep everything open, they're going to be people who disagree with you on that. So I think that everybody's doing what they feel is best for their communities. And I'm glad I'm not in the position of making those decisions.
Jack Nord 35:59
So my last question pertains to now we're, I feel on the tail end of what the government considers the COVID-19 pandemic. We're starting to reopen things. So this question is how do you feel about states reopening, such as opening for businesses, beaches, and parks?
Grace Neugebauer 36:20
Um, I think that again, I'm glad it's a decision that I haven't had to make. Um, I think that a lot of small businesses have really, really suffered during this Coronavirus time. So I think that gradual reopening could be very good for those places, I guess. I think that people should still be trying to be as cautious as they can and businesses should continue to do the things they have to actually like clean things better and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. I don't really know.
Jack Nord 37:03
So do you feel that part of the reason why states are reopening things such as beaches and parks is for people's mental and, mental health and kind of morale?
Grace Neugebauer 37:14
Yeah, I definitely do think that that is part of it. I think being cooped up in the house is really hard on a lot of people. And I think, you know, when it comes to physical health, a lot of people you know, I know even for myself, you know, your board or whatever, you open up the fridge to eat something, and, you know, people are experiencing issues with that, especially if they haven't been able to get out and go outside and things like that. Um, so I can understand that. Although I do think that if those places get very packed and crowded that that could be potentially a dangerous situation for people who are especially people who are at risk.
Jack Nord 37:51
So now we can get into some questions about the future. So has your experience transformed how you think about your family, friends and community? If so, in what ways?
Grace Neugebauer 38:05
Um, I don't know. That's a hard question. I I don't think it's really changed how I personally view people. It has maybe changed how the way I think that different states and different government systems deal with crisis like this. Um, I'm not a very highly opinionated person. So I I guess it really hasn't changed my opinion, too much. Yeah.
Jack Nord 38:35
So now that we understand the possibilities of pandemics happening again in the future, and the impacts that they can have, knowing what you know, now, what do you think that individuals communities or governments need to keep in mind for the future? Because there's a chance that this could happen again.
Grace Neugebauer 38:57
I think that's something that people should take into consideration is how important vaccinations are for children and for yourself. Maybe part of my opinion on that is that I'm a nursing major, um, but you know, things like this can be avoided if there's vaccines in this case that wouldn't have mattered because there's not a vaccine for covid yet. But I think that that's something important to keep in mind. I also think that it's important to I guess, just remember to wash your hands, even if there's not a global pandemic. Wash your hands. It's, you know, if you go to the grocery store and touch a cart, just because there's not a pandemic doesn't mean there's not a million little germs all over that and it's still gross.
Jack Nord 39:47
So I have one more question because you mentioned vaccines. So the polio virus created a generation of people that feared the little bugs, you know, on the grocery cart handles, and they've dedicated themselves to making sure that their children always had vaccines. So the younger generations now are starting to go away from vaccines because they don't see or recognize the threat. Do you think that this pandemic has instituted in them the same thing that happened to past generations with the polio vaccine? And now we'll start to see vaccinations increasing again?
Grace Neugebauer 40:29
No, I'm not really sure. I guess that's a question we will learn the answer to as time goes on. I certainly hope so. Because I am a big believer that vaccines are a wonderful thing. Um, but I guess we'll see what other people how this has changed their perspective.
Jack Nord 40:46
Awesome. That's all the questions I have. Thank you for the interview.
Grace Neugebauer 40:49
Thank you.
The time is 2:15pm the date is May 14, 2020. And just as a reminder, any answers you provide will be included in a publicly accessible archive. So please do not share any information that you would not like to be publicly available. So we'll begin with some background questions. What is your name? And if you're comfortable, do you mind sharing your age and ethnicity?
Grace Neugebauer 0:31
My name is Grace Neugebauer and I'm 20. I'm white.
Jack Nord 0:37
I'm in general, where do you live?
Grace Neugebauer 0:40
I go to school in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and I have house there.
Jack Nord 0:46
And then do you have family that live in Minnesota?
Grace Neugebauer 0:48
Yep.
Jack Nord 0:48
Where in Minnesota, just in general in?
Grace Neugebauer 0:50
Apple Valley.
Jack Nord 0:52
Okay. Um, when you first learned about COVID-19, what were your initial thoughts about it? And how have your thoughts changed since then?
Grace Neugebauer 1:01
At first, I wasn't really sure what to think about it. I, initially many people were saying that it's similar to the flu. So that's kind of what I thought at first. And then as things progressed, I realized that it's different and yeah.
Jack Nord 1:21
What thoughts have concerned you the most about COVID-19?
Grace Neugebauer 1:24
I guess things that have concerned me the most is just how people are going to be staying safe throughout this and our economy, how it will be effected through all of this.
Jack Nord 1:39
What are your primary what are the primary things you do on a day to day basis, for example, your job extracurricular activities, how has COVID-19 affected that?
Grace Neugebauer 1:49
So normally, on a regular day, I would go to class at the university and then go to work at a daycare center and then sometimes babysit in the afternoons and then just kind of come home and do my normal thing. And COVID has affected that in a lot of ways. So, classes for the University are all online, which is a big change. And the daycare center I was working at because of COVID has reduced staff and reduced number of kids. So I made the choice to come and stay at home with my dad instead of staying in Eau Claire.
Jack Nord 2:26
And, in general, where are you staying with your dad?
Grave Neugebauer 2:30
It's in South Dakota.
Jack Nord 2:32
So now we can get on to some questions pertaining to University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, um, and just answer these to the best of your ability. What is your, what is your major at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire? And what year are you in?
Grace Neugebauer 2:46
I'm a sophomore and I'm a nursing major psychology minor and a certificate in American Sign Language.
Jack Nord 2:52
So has this has COVID-19 affected you in any way when it comes to your minor? Not your minor, sorry, your major.
Grace Neugebauer 2:59
Um, not so much of my major because I haven't started nursing classes yet, I start them next fall. But it's just made it so things are online, which is a little bit difficult sometimes.
Jack Nord 3:11
So you're in the nursing program, right? Mm hmm. So do you know any nursing majors now that have been affected by it?
Grace Neugebauer 3:18
Yes, so there has been people have been struggling because with nursing, typically you would have clinicals that you would have to go to and the clinical sites are obviously not able to allow students to come in. So that has been a big change for a lot of nursing majors.
Jack Nord 3:36
Where do you most nursing majors do their clinicals?
Grace Neugebauer 3:39
Many do them at like nursing home facilities at first and then believe they move into different clinics and things as the program moves on.
Jack Nord 3:50
So has the change on campus from in class learning to online learning affected your housing situation?
Grace Neugebauer 3:56
Yes, only because I chose to come stay with my dad instead of staying at my house in Eau Claire. Wouldn't have had to do that but it seemed like he lives in a very rural area. So it seemed the most secluded and like a safer place.
Jack Nord 4:11
It definitely has affected a lot of people on campus to you know, having forcing people to leave and go home.
Grace Neugebauer 4:16
Mm hmm.
Jack Nord 4:19
How's the transition from in class learning to online learning been for you?
Grace Neugebauer 4:23
Um, for me, personally, I have a little bit more of a relaxed semester this semester. So, since my classes aren't too terribly difficult in comparison to what I've had before, hasn't been too much of a challenge. It is hard to stay on track and just to be self motivated to get everything done. Whereas in class, there's a little bit more encouragement from your professors and more interaction with your peers which is helpful and with online learning you don't have that as much.
Jack Nord 4:47
So you said you were studying ASL, can you say what that is?
Grace Neugebauer 5:00
American Sign Language. So that has been actually affected quite a bit by e-learning. Because it's a very visual language and something that's very interactive. And so it's to me, I don't learn it as well online because you have to watch videos and things and it's just a different environment than doing it in person.
Jack Nord 5:23
Um, do you feel that you have gotten the most out of your classes after the university shifted to online learning?
Grace Neugebauer 5:31
No, I definitely feel like I got more out of my classes when they were in person, mostly because you get a lot more interaction with professors and with your peers. And I just learned more like, for example, my sing language class, if you're in class, you are signing with your peers and with other people and when you're doing it online. You're just watching the videos and doing the assignments and kind of going through the motions more so than really, truly learning the things you're being taught.
Jack Nord 6:01
So when it comes to ASL, what are some things that your teacher has implemented to try to better your learning situation.
Grace Neugebauer 6:09
So she has posted videos of herself signing different things and videos from our workbook and then we're just kind of using our book more so than we would have before to learn things, but she does do some videos of herself signing with little instructions and things in there. And same thing goes with my other classes. In my research methods class for psychology, we're doing a research paper and she's been posting a lot of videos on how to do things and she did some like lectures through videos online and then she's been doing a lot of videos showing us how to do all the correct formatting and everything for our paper.
Jack Nord 6:50
So a lot of ASL teachers, um, they are deaf, correct?
Grace Neugebauer 5:56
Uh, many are.
Jack Nord 6:57
So has that affected your ability to communicate through a web based platform with your professor?
Grace Neugebauer 7:05
It is challenging in my deaf culture class, we have an interpreter for that class because students of all different levels of ASL can take that class. So for example, I'm an ASL four but somebody who is in ASL one could also take that same class. So they have an interpreter just so everything is equal, and everybody can understand things. And that has been a little bit challenging. So things have shifted to be online and we have Zoom lectures once a week. Um, but because there's an interpreter, sometimes it's hard because the interpreter will have to pause because she didn't understand something or the video lags or something like that, or there's issues with the sound or some things like that that can sometimes make it a little challenging.
Jack Nord 7:53
Do you feel that the response from campus officials on COVID-19 was appropriate?
Grace Neugebauer 7:59
I guess so, yes. I think that they were being as cautious as they could. And that was wonderful. And it was nice that they gave professors extra time to try to prepare for classes online.
Jack Nord 8:13
Now, I don't know about you, but from my perspective, the response was rather quick from when they started, you know, implementing the meetings to, you know, instituting, you know, we'd leave, we left a week early. And so that was very quick. Do you agree, or do you want to elaborate on that?
Grace Neugebauer 8:38
Um, yeah, I agree that it was pretty quick. I feel like their decision was heavily influenced by what other colleges were doing around the country.
Jack Nord 8:50
Or within the UW system.
Grace Neugebauer 8:52
Or within the UW system. Yep. So um, and I guess I don't really know my thoughts on that. I don't know what I would do if I was in administrative position. So I don't really have a strong opinion about whether the decisions they have made if they did everything right or not, or I think they did the best they could in a tricky situation.
Jack Nord 9:16
What do you think could have been done better when the university reacted to COVID-19?
Grace Neugebauer 9:21
I think one thing they could have done much better was communicate with the students better. Because when they first decided to, they had first decided to let us go a week early before our spring break was supposed to start. And then there was a week after that, where we also were going to not have class but the first initial email that was sent out about that was so, so, so confusing, like people didn't know we were having classes online or just completely canceled altogether or how it was gonna work. So I think that them having clear communication could have been really beneficial. I guess apart from that, I would just say communicating in general with you know, addressing student concerns and taking what students have to think about the situation a little bit.
Jack Nord 10:14
In reference for the recording the UW Eau Claire campus. We got out a week early before spring break and then we had an extra week after of online classes to prepare -
Grace Neugebauer 10:29
No, those were just canceled completely.
Jack Nord 10:30
Cancel classes and then an extra week.
Grace Neugebauer 10:32
And then an extra week or two that was supposed to be online. And then they were gonna discuss whether or not we would go back to school.
Jack Nord 10:40
Do you remember there wasn't they came out with that decision rather early than when they said they were gonna. What do you feel? How do you feel about that?
Grace Neugebauer 10:49
Um, now I feel like that was a the right decision at the time I struggle to understand why they made that decision so early. I had hoped they would wait and just kind of see where things were at. And I would hope that for fall semester, I know some places have chosen to cancel classes for fall semester already. And I'm hoping that the university waits to see a little bit more where the situation is at that point rather than making that decision so early.
Jack Nord 11:18
If UW Eau Claire didn't meet in the fall, would that affect your nursing program at all?
Grace Neugebauer 11:26
Yes, it would, because I would be in clinical classes and things like that. And I think from perspectives of courses like that, it's really hard to do those online because the things you learn are very hands on and things that are very difficult to do from home.
Jack Nord 11:43
So are there programs out there where you could do some of your nursing classes online to make them somewhat hands on or is it really a dedicated you have to be in the in the classroom type of thing?
Grace Neugebauer 11:56
You know, I'm not really sure I'm thinking like for your sciences class they have sometimes they have online simulations you can do. I'm assuming with nursing, there's maybe some online simulations that you could do. But an online simulation is not even comparable to what you would do in a classroom.
Jack Nord 12:14
So is there anything that professors have done in class that has helped you transition from in class learning to online learning?
Grace Neugebauer 12:23
My prepper professors have been very organized, which has been really helpful with the transition. They have been really good at communicating and getting off schedule on a timeline of when things are going to be do. My research methods professor has been exceptionally just great with this whole thing she has done. The class I'm taking online in the past, which I think really helped her to be prepared to do this. And she's made communication really clear and she's done a lot of instructional videos on things rather than just trying to explain it through an email or canvass announcements. So that has been really, really helpful.
Jack Nord 13:03
Do you know anybody and you don't have to give names that have been psychologically affected by the shift to online learning?
Grace Neugebauer 13:10
Yeah, I think a lot of people have really struggled with it, um, people get very, very overwhelmed with online learning. And some people just have really struggled and been much more anxious and much more stressed out with it.
Jack Nord 13:25
Well, then definitely, you know, and on campus, you're in a place of learning, but when you go home, you have a lot of distractions, and a lot of people don't have very good home environments. So that's definitely.
Grace Neugebauer 13:38
Yes, absolutely.
Jack Nord 13:40
So do you have anything else you want to comment on with in relation to UW Eau Claire, or any other UW system?
Grace Neugebauer 13:48
No.
Jack Nord 13:49
Okay. So we can get into some employment questions now. Has COVID-19 affected your job? And, if so, in what ways?
Grace Neugebauer 13:58
Yes, it has so the childcare center I work at the state of Wisconsin made it so that there was a limited capacity. So they could only accept a certain number of kids, which was much less than we would normally have. And with that only a certain number of staff members were allowed to show up. And I chose to come home to my dad's house rather than to work. But if I would have been able to work, many of my co workers have experienced reduced hours. And they've changed things. They've made it so that when you come in you, every kid and every staff member and parents and everybody has to get their temperature taken in the mornings when they drop their kids off, and they've done a lot of changes like that to try to make things a little bit safer.
Jack Nord 14:47
So has COVID-19, has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the employment of people you know? In what ways? This could be as simple as people working from home.
Grace Neugebauer 14:57
Yes, COVID-19 has definitely affected people. I know, many people in my family have had to start working at home when normally they would go into an office every day. I know many people who have been laid off from their jobs and had to go on unemployment because of COVID-19. Their employers just weren't doing as well or different things like that, um, I know many people, there's a lot of changes in the way, like their shifts changed. For example, my brother, he is in the military and they had changed things to be so that they would have 12 hour shifts, and so his usual shift and then they made it so that it would be a week on and a week off so that there would be more separation between the people working.
Jack Nord 15:51
What other limitations does your brother have, if you don't mind sharing?
Grace Neugebauer 16:00
I'm not really sure. I, I know that for a while there he couldn't he, will, he's not allowed to go more than an hour away from, from where he lives where his base is at, and for a while there he was. I don't remember what it was called but they weren't allowed to consume any alcohol or anything like that and they weren't allowed to travel anywhere and they were pretty much like couldn't do much of anything but go to work and they were supposed to go home.
Jack Nord 16:31
So now we can get into some family and household questions. Um, how has COVID-19 affected you and or your family's day to day activities?
Grace Neugebauer 16:42
Um, I guess for me, I because I've moved back in with my dad rather than seeing my house in Eau Claire that has made it so that I don't go to class and I don't go to work and so I spend different because I live in a rural area and my dad farms and owns his own business. He is still actually able to go to work because he worked does everything outside. So it hasn't affected that too much. But all my cousins they can't go to school and just different things like that. I guess it's different. We don't go to the stores as much and try to do grocery shopping less frequently and that kind of stuff.
Jack Nord 17:26
Um, how are you managing day, day to day activities in your household, so the one we're at now?
Grace Neugebauer 17:38
I guess I've just been trying to stay busy. Been trying to focus on homework and-
Jack Nord 17:45
Are there any projects that you've been doing to try to stay busy?
Grace Neugebauer 17:48
Um, yeah, so I have been making a lot of beanbag or cornhole boards for people different neighbors have wanted them and I made some for myself, some for my dad, and then felt them and painted different designs on them different patterns depending on what people wanted. Been doing a lot of puzzles and just cooking and baking and things like that to try to stay busy.
Jack Nord 18:15
Has the COVID-19 outbreak affected how you associate and communicate with friends and family?
Grace Neugebauer 18:20
Um, yeah definitely has. In the past, I had roommates that I lived with and I talked to them every single day and you know, would come home on the weekends and now I'm living at home so I see my family more frequently. But you know, my friends and stuff we've been just trying to stay in touch through texting and I FaceTime with my roommates pretty frequently and FaceTime with my mom pretty frequently because she lives in the Twin Cities so I haven't been seeing her much. I guess that's about it.
Jack Nord 19:00
What have you, your family and your friends done for recreation during COVID-19? So you said that you've been doing making cornhole boards, which is a great activity because you know, you're outside you can stay six feet apart. Um, but what are some other things you've been trying to stay busy? You know, we're, we're outside, right? Well, you know, we're in an area where we can go outside, and there's not a lot of people around us. So are there any specific things that you've been doing?
Grace Neugebauer 19:25
Yeah, I've been outside trying to walk more sidewalk about four to six miles a day, depending on the day, um, and then helping my grandma in the garden and because my family farms we've been busy doing a lot of planting things. And other things like that. I'm just been trying to play games and my family and I we play a lot of dominoes, or we've been playing cornhole because I've made the boards Just different, as much as things we can do to stay busy.
Jack Nord 20:05
So now we can start getting into some community questions. How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected your affected your community? And remember, you may be part of many communities, including school club, church job, etc. You're welcome to speak about all of these.
Grace Neugebauer 20:22
Yeah, so we've already talked about school a little bit. So we won't say too much about that. But I guess just that, you know, things are online, and that has changed quite a bit. And with my job, you know, they've changed a few things there. I know, even though I'm not there, I still talk to some coworkers that I've been there and they're just doing a lot more precautions to make sure everybody stays safe. In my church, we have not been having church because of COVID. So that is quite a change. Church has been online. So they've been asking people from the congregation for Do readings and things in their home and send them to our pastor and she puts it together in a really nice video. Um, I think so that's been very different.
Jack Nord 21:13
How long have you been not going to church for
Grace Neugebauer 21:16
We haven't been going to church since they canceled kind of the week I came here to South Dakota, which was like probably two months ago, maybe a little more about eight weeks. Yeah, maybe a little more 10 maybe 10 weeks.
Jack Nord 21:40
So, are there other churches in the area that are continuing meeting as a congregation?
Grace Neugebauer 21:47
Um, yes. So because the State of South Dakota never issued any kind of a safer home for the entire state. There are churches that chose to go against the recommendations and continue to hold church and they feel very strongly that that is the correct decision as long as they're, you know, sitting apart in the church and things like.
Jack Nord 22:13
So within the church, when they're meeting as a congregation, they still practice social distancing, and things like that?
Grace Neugebauer 22:21
To my knowledge, they I've heard from other people I know that go to that church that they sit apart and things but I know for a while they were still using what's called the common cup a communion. I don't know if that has continued or not. Same with like, passing of offering plates or things like that. I'm, I'm not really sure because I don't go to church at that particular place. But I do know they have still been holding church.
Jack Nord 22:49
And how do you feel personally about gatherings of people like that?
Grace Neugebauer 22:54
Um, I think that you know, you don't have to be like in church to all still worship, I think that you can have God in your own home. So I don't, I feel like you are putting people at risk by having those services. But at the same time, if you have them, people can choose not to go. And that's each person's individual choice to choose to go to church and have that risk for themselves and everybody else and I guess if that's a choice they can live with. It's not a choice I would make. But
Jack Nord 23:33
So are you a member of any clubs?
Grace Neugebauer 23:38
Ah, not too much. I do some things through the school, but those have all kind of been canceled.
Jack Nord 23:34
So clubs can include, I would say, if you're a teacher's assistant, or things along that nature, too. If you are, you know, you can elaborate on that too.
Grace Neugebauer 23:57
Yeah. So I actually am a teacher's assistant. For my anatomy and physiology class, and that's a good example of a class that has changed quite a bit due to COVID. So I took that class. It's a two semester class, I've taken that a couple semesters. And for lab, you would typically have lab in person and you'd be able to use the models and exams and everything. You weren't allowed to use your notes and weren't allowed to do any of that. And online is very different. I think many students have been handling it pretty well. That's a very intense class. So for me, I think I would struggle to have it online because it would include a lot of self motivation, but the students have been doing pretty well with it. And as a TA it has made it so I used to go to lab with the students and then go to open lab in the library and help out students and answer their questions and, you know, help them find things on the microscopes and Explain different concepts that they were struggling to understand. And online, I don't really get a lot of students coming to me and asking me questions because they're able to use their books and their notes on the exams, because there's not really a way for the professor to prevent that from happening. So they've just kind of opened it up to be more of an open book format. Say, I haven't been getting as many questions and I don't get to, you know, I was just starting to build relationships with the students in my lab. And now that's not happening. So that's a little bit of a bummer.
Jack Nord 25:33
You know I would agree with you on that. I'm a TA also in the benefit of working as a TA is you really get to meet a diverse group of people and work with them, and also build skills personally. And it is disappointing that, you know, we weren't able to really meet with students and continue to build relationships.
Grace Neugebauer 25:43
Yes.
Jack Nord 25:54
So how are people around you responding to COVID-19 so this could be family. Friends when he you know, when you go to the grocery store, what are you seeing? When you go to Menards? What are you seeing, you know, home improvement stores, things like that?
Grace Neugebauer 26:12
Yeah, so, um, I've noticed many people, you know, it really varies. So, you know, some people are very afraid and don't want to go out. And if they do, they wear a mask and gloves and they're very, very cautious. Other people go to the stores and act like nothing is happening. We've been to the source and seem like little kids crawling around on the floor and things like that. Um, so some people just really seem to not be affected much. And as we've talked about my church, you know, our church had canceled church and we haven't been congregating together. But other churches have and people still choose to go. So I guess it just you know, everybody's opinion is a little bit different I guess.
Jack Nord 27:04
When you go to the stores are you seeing a shortage of anything in particular?
Grace Neugebauer 27:09
Um, yeah, so I my grandma lives very close and so she does a lot of baking and I've been baking a lot with her. For a long time there was a big shortage of flour we were really struggling to find flour and my grandma has always made her own homemade bread and buns and everything and so that shortage of flour was very just surprising I guess because many people I don't think a lot of people even really know how to bake things that much with flour, so it was surprising that they were out of that. The shortage of toilet paper everybody knows about that they were selling it at one point for $1 per role in the stores which was kind of crazy to me. Um, there was for a while like a shortage of eggs were just very random. So we just got them from some neighbors instead of buying the expensive ones at the store.
Jack Nord 28:03
Now, being in the community around here, I've noticed a lot of people are getting nervous about a shortage of meat. Can you reiterate a little bit on that?
Grace Neugebauer 28:13
Um, so farmers around here specifically in the pork industry because the pork plant in the city nearest here.
Jack Nord 28:23
The Smithfield pork plant right in Sioux Falls.
Grace Neugebauer 28:25
Yep.
Jack Nord 28:26
South Dakota.
Grace Neugebauer 28:27
It closed down for a while, that has affected a lot of local farmers. So, unfortunately, farmers have had to try to empty their hog barns on their own and try and just sell to people in the community and people they know, which has been very difficult because some people have to just have to get rid of their pigs and they don't get money for them and that's been really hard to watch. You know, neighbors and friends and family have to go through that. We have purchased some hogs from a neighbor and we had them butchered at a local at a local Walker, just to try to support the local people a little bit more. And I think that as things start to open back up, there won't be people think there's going to be a shortage and a source there hopefully will not be.
Jack Nord 29:25
So have you seen people around you change their opinions, day to day activities or relationships in response to the pandemic?
Grace Neugebauer 29:32
Yeah, I know a lot of people who you know, are on Easter, for example, chose not to get together with their families because they live in different areas or whatever and just didn't want to risk that. For me, all my family lives right next to each other. So we all see each other every day. So I was able to still go on with that that celebration still look different because typically we would go to church and celebrate there and that wasn't an option. Yeah, I don't know. Other than that, you know, people trying not to go to the stores as much and some people are not as cautious just depends.
Jack Nord 30:11
So when you go to the stores, is there anything preventative measures that stores have implemented?
Grace Neugebauer 20:16
Yeah, so many stores have the plexigrab, glass screens to try to protect their employees. Many of them I've noticed more cart wipes where they used to not have them. We went and got my grandma some flowers to plant and the greenhouse had said, you know, like limit of two people in the greenhouse at a time. A lot of stores have the X's for where people should stand so that they're six feet apart. And, you know, you can only enter through one door and exit through another whereas normally you'd be able to go however you want or one-way aisles in the grocery store. Different things like that.
Jack Nord 30:58
So self-isolation. And flattening the curve have been two key ideas that have emerged during the pandemic. How have you your family, friends and community responded to requests to self-isolate and flatten the curve?
Grace Neugebauer 31:10
We have been self-isolating quite a lot. Just being out where my dad lives I'm very isolated. So we don't really see anyone but each other. And you know, if we have to go to the store or something my grandma sewn masks and we have been using those when we go out in public. Just different things like that. Just, you know, we see the neighbors, you know, wave to them, or if we are talking to them, it's outside so that we're farther apart.
Jack Nord 31:42
Um, has COVID-19 changed your relationship with family friends and community? And if so, in what ways?
Grace Neugebauer 31:48
Um, I don't know. I guess it's made things different by relationships haven't been necessarily like, harmed by it, but just different, you know, more things over the phone. or things like that rather than gatherings in person.
Jack Nord 32:05
So now we can get into some health questions. Have you or anybody you know, gotten sick during the covid 19 outbreak? What has been your experiences in responding to the sickness?
Grace Neugebauer 32:17
Yes, so a family member of mine, he flown a plane shortly after everything with COVID kind of began and then he got sick. And another one of my family members picked him up from the airport so that they both had to quarantine and he actually got tested and he was negative,
thankfully, but that was just kind of an interesting experience. You know, it was kind of scary.
Jack Nord 32:44
In what ways do you think that COVID-19 is affecting people's mental and or physical health?
Grace Neugebauer 32:49
I think a lot of people are struggling with their mental and physical health during this time. I think I'm not interacting with people as much has been really hard for some. And I think that there's a lot of people who just really need that interaction with others and aren't getting that. They think there's a lot of people who live in homes that are abusive. And those people, I imagine are really struggling, even more so than they already maybe were, because they're stuck at home and can't go to school or work or wherever it was that they went to get away from those relationships that were unhealthy.
Jack Nord 33:30
So now we can get into some government related questions. Have the munic, in this question is a unique question when it pertains to South Dakota, which is the state we're at now. Um, how have municipal leaders and government officials in your community responded to the outbreak?
Grace Neugebauer 33:48
So I have kind of a interesting situation because I have a home in Wisconsin, my mom lives in Minnesota, and my dad lives in South Dakota and Minnesota. Wisconsin have responded in similar ways with stay at home order. and some things like that, here in South Dakota, the governor, she chose not to have a stay at home order during this time. And I think the main reason behind that is because the state is much more rural and very, very spread out. So some parts of the state had very, very few or no cases at all. And so she kept the state open to try and keep small businesses and things like that afloat. Whereas in those bigger communities, they closed a lot more things.
Jack Nord 34:32
Such as Sioux Falls, which didn't really close and became one of the fastest growing hotspots in the nation.
Grace Neugebauer 34:39
Yes. So Smithfield, the pork plant we had spoken of earlier, they got hit pretty hard. And then because of that, in Sioux Falls, specifically the Sioux Falls. Government officials close down bars and restaurants and non essential places like that, but the rest of the state that wasn't experiencing so many issues, they remained open, and many people have chosen to social distance despite that. Yeah.
Jack Nord 35:15
Do you have any thoughts on how local state or federal leaders are responding to the crisis differently?
Grace Neugebauer 35:20
Um, I guess, I don't really have too strong of an opinion, because I'm not in those positions. So I guess I'm just thankful that I am not the one having to make those decisions. Because I think that regardless of what decisions are made, people are going to not agree with decisions to make you decide to have a stay at home order in your state. There are people who are going to protest that and if you decide to keep everything open, they're going to be people who disagree with you on that. So I think that everybody's doing what they feel is best for their communities. And I'm glad I'm not in the position of making those decisions.
Jack Nord 35:59
So my last question pertains to now we're, I feel on the tail end of what the government considers the COVID-19 pandemic. We're starting to reopen things. So this question is how do you feel about states reopening, such as opening for businesses, beaches, and parks?
Grace Neugebauer 36:20
Um, I think that again, I'm glad it's a decision that I haven't had to make. Um, I think that a lot of small businesses have really, really suffered during this Coronavirus time. So I think that gradual reopening could be very good for those places, I guess. I think that people should still be trying to be as cautious as they can and businesses should continue to do the things they have to actually like clean things better and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. I don't really know.
Jack Nord 37:03
So do you feel that part of the reason why states are reopening things such as beaches and parks is for people's mental and, mental health and kind of morale?
Grace Neugebauer 37:14
Yeah, I definitely do think that that is part of it. I think being cooped up in the house is really hard on a lot of people. And I think, you know, when it comes to physical health, a lot of people you know, I know even for myself, you know, your board or whatever, you open up the fridge to eat something, and, you know, people are experiencing issues with that, especially if they haven't been able to get out and go outside and things like that. Um, so I can understand that. Although I do think that if those places get very packed and crowded that that could be potentially a dangerous situation for people who are especially people who are at risk.
Jack Nord 37:51
So now we can get into some questions about the future. So has your experience transformed how you think about your family, friends and community? If so, in what ways?
Grace Neugebauer 38:05
Um, I don't know. That's a hard question. I I don't think it's really changed how I personally view people. It has maybe changed how the way I think that different states and different government systems deal with crisis like this. Um, I'm not a very highly opinionated person. So I I guess it really hasn't changed my opinion, too much. Yeah.
Jack Nord 38:35
So now that we understand the possibilities of pandemics happening again in the future, and the impacts that they can have, knowing what you know, now, what do you think that individuals communities or governments need to keep in mind for the future? Because there's a chance that this could happen again.
Grace Neugebauer 38:57
I think that's something that people should take into consideration is how important vaccinations are for children and for yourself. Maybe part of my opinion on that is that I'm a nursing major, um, but you know, things like this can be avoided if there's vaccines in this case that wouldn't have mattered because there's not a vaccine for covid yet. But I think that that's something important to keep in mind. I also think that it's important to I guess, just remember to wash your hands, even if there's not a global pandemic. Wash your hands. It's, you know, if you go to the grocery store and touch a cart, just because there's not a pandemic doesn't mean there's not a million little germs all over that and it's still gross.
Jack Nord 39:47
So I have one more question because you mentioned vaccines. So the polio virus created a generation of people that feared the little bugs, you know, on the grocery cart handles, and they've dedicated themselves to making sure that their children always had vaccines. So the younger generations now are starting to go away from vaccines because they don't see or recognize the threat. Do you think that this pandemic has instituted in them the same thing that happened to past generations with the polio vaccine? And now we'll start to see vaccinations increasing again?
Grace Neugebauer 40:29
No, I'm not really sure. I guess that's a question we will learn the answer to as time goes on. I certainly hope so. Because I am a big believer that vaccines are a wonderful thing. Um, but I guess we'll see what other people how this has changed their perspective.
Jack Nord 40:46
Awesome. That's all the questions I have. Thank you for the interview.
Grace Neugebauer 40:49
Thank you.
Date Accepted (Dublin Core)
2020/05/21 11:44:50 PM AST