Item
Hannah Tedawes Oral History, 2020/09/19
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Hannah Tedawes Oral History, 2020/09/19
Description (Dublin Core)
C19OH
Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Collection (Dublin Core)
Curatorial Notes (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
11/23/2021
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
02/23/2022
05/17/2022
05/18/2022
12/08/2023
Date Created (Dublin Core)
09/19/2020
interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
Unknown
interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Hannah Tedawes
Location (Omeka Classic)
6896
Redding
Connecticut
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
Audio
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:06:33
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
Interviewer 0:01
Before we start this interview, do you consent to being interviewed?
Hannah Tedawes 0:04
Yes, I do.
Interviewer 0:05
Can you please tell me the date and time and a little bit about yourself?
Hannah Tedawes 0:09
It is Saturday, September 19, 2020. And it's 11:22am. My name is Hannah Tedawes. I'm a freshman at Northeastern University studying behavioral neuroscience, and I'm from Redding, Connecticut.
Interviewer 0:24
When COVID-19 first started to appear on the news, what did you think about it?
Hannah Tedawes 0:28
When it first started, I really didn't think much of it. I thought it was a problem for the other half of the world because it was across the world when I first started, so it wasn't anywhere near us. I wasn't too concerned, and my family and friends and I kind of just brushed it off as a problem that we didn't have to deal with because it was nowhere near us.
Interviewer 0:49
When did you first start to worry about this affecting your daily life?
Hannah Tedawes 0:53
Um, I think I first started to worry when my school shut down, and my school shut down mid-March, I believe. And they were supposed to shut down on a Monday, but they actually shut down the Thursday before, which was kind of sudden, and that caused, like, kind of like anxiety, because we didn't really know what was going on, or why it shut down early. So that's when I first started to worry. And then as my town started shutting down and regulating more aspects of my life, I was like, “Okay, this is actually happening, like, we need to be safe and, and know about what's going on.”
Interviewer 1:36
What kind of measures were put in place in your local government?
Hannah Tedawes 1:40
So when the pandemic hit the U.S., we- my town kind of shut down, but quarantine was never mandated in my town, it was advised. And I think that people felt that they had a personal responsibility to keep us safe and stay inside. So we all did our part. And in staying inside and keeping social distance and wearing masks, wearing masks was actually enforced a lot. And it was required that you wear a mask whenever you're out in public. So that was, I think, a good way of stopping the spread. And I actually remember the- whenever I would go to a store, sometimes I'd forget my mask, and I had to turn around and come straight back home. And a lot of businesses shut down as a result because they couldn't have people in the store. And when they reopened after it was very different, restaurants were only for takeout and you had max capacity at stores that you shopped at. So there were definitely measures put in place to keep everyone safe.
Interviewer 2:45
When did this first start to affect your daily life?
Hannah Tedawes 2:48
So I think it first started affecting me personally when my school shut down. But after that, the town as a whole kind of started changing and enforcing regulations, which I think is when it started affecting me.
Interviewer 3:04
Kind of elaborating on your high school, what did they do to help combat the spread of the virus?
Hannah Tedawes 3:11
So my high school actually shut down completely, there was nobody allowed in the school. And we decided to take classes online. So all of our classes were through Zoom or Google Hangouts, and the teachers would post their videos about their lectures, and then we do homework, and it kind of became the new normal. And we all adjusted to the new way that the school system was going to work.
Interviewer 3:36
Can you please elaborate on how it was like being a high school senior during this pandemic?
Hannah Tedawes 3:41
Um, I think as a senior, it really was difficult for me because I was kind of supposed to end high school with my friends and my family and kind of like a celebration in a way. But instead, I really didn't get the closure I wanted. We didn't have a graduation because we, my school deemed unsafe. So we had like a drive through graduation, which isn't really the same. Our prom got canceled, our senior trip got canceled, our senior break got canceled. So all these events that kind of close up senior year and allow us to start the new chapter of our lives didn't really happen. So I think it was hard as either a high school or college senior to find that closure.
Interviewer 4:28
Did you have a job during this time? If so, how did- how did this affect your work?
Hannah Tedawes 4:32
I did have a job. I was actually a karate instructor in a town 30 minutes away from mine. And I decided that I would quit my job because there was a lot of in person contact with other people and Danbury was a town that had a higher spreading than my town did, so I didn't want to put my family or my friends at risk by spreading the virus to them so I quit my job as soon as my school shut down. And I kind of use that as a marker for my actions.
Interviewer 5:05
Looking forward, when this pandemic is over, what effect do you think it’ll have on your daily life?
Hannah Tedawes 5:10
I think it's already affecting our daily lives, and not just mine, but as a society as a whole. I think wearing masks is going to be a normal thing. I think we're all going to be conscious of, of gatherings in large groups and being in contact with people. And I think we're gonna have more information of- about our health in general, and we're going to want to seek out more information, which I think is beneficial, because it's gonna help the spread of future pandemics. I think it will also make society more efficient, because we're not going to have to wait in line to get food anymore or wait in line to go into a store. I think everything will be more efficient because of the technology that we created as a result of this pandemic. So everything will be online and easier and faster, and everything will go smoother. But I think the negative aspect to that is that there will be less time for socialization. And people are more likely to stay at home versus going out and seeing friends even way after the pandemic, which I think is a negative thing because we need to socialize as human beings, and that's part of our nature and part of our species. But I think overall, it will have a positive effect, and we’ll be more conscious for future pandemics.
Interviewer 6:30
Thank you. That's all.
Hannah Tedawes 6:31
Thank you.
Before we start this interview, do you consent to being interviewed?
Hannah Tedawes 0:04
Yes, I do.
Interviewer 0:05
Can you please tell me the date and time and a little bit about yourself?
Hannah Tedawes 0:09
It is Saturday, September 19, 2020. And it's 11:22am. My name is Hannah Tedawes. I'm a freshman at Northeastern University studying behavioral neuroscience, and I'm from Redding, Connecticut.
Interviewer 0:24
When COVID-19 first started to appear on the news, what did you think about it?
Hannah Tedawes 0:28
When it first started, I really didn't think much of it. I thought it was a problem for the other half of the world because it was across the world when I first started, so it wasn't anywhere near us. I wasn't too concerned, and my family and friends and I kind of just brushed it off as a problem that we didn't have to deal with because it was nowhere near us.
Interviewer 0:49
When did you first start to worry about this affecting your daily life?
Hannah Tedawes 0:53
Um, I think I first started to worry when my school shut down, and my school shut down mid-March, I believe. And they were supposed to shut down on a Monday, but they actually shut down the Thursday before, which was kind of sudden, and that caused, like, kind of like anxiety, because we didn't really know what was going on, or why it shut down early. So that's when I first started to worry. And then as my town started shutting down and regulating more aspects of my life, I was like, “Okay, this is actually happening, like, we need to be safe and, and know about what's going on.”
Interviewer 1:36
What kind of measures were put in place in your local government?
Hannah Tedawes 1:40
So when the pandemic hit the U.S., we- my town kind of shut down, but quarantine was never mandated in my town, it was advised. And I think that people felt that they had a personal responsibility to keep us safe and stay inside. So we all did our part. And in staying inside and keeping social distance and wearing masks, wearing masks was actually enforced a lot. And it was required that you wear a mask whenever you're out in public. So that was, I think, a good way of stopping the spread. And I actually remember the- whenever I would go to a store, sometimes I'd forget my mask, and I had to turn around and come straight back home. And a lot of businesses shut down as a result because they couldn't have people in the store. And when they reopened after it was very different, restaurants were only for takeout and you had max capacity at stores that you shopped at. So there were definitely measures put in place to keep everyone safe.
Interviewer 2:45
When did this first start to affect your daily life?
Hannah Tedawes 2:48
So I think it first started affecting me personally when my school shut down. But after that, the town as a whole kind of started changing and enforcing regulations, which I think is when it started affecting me.
Interviewer 3:04
Kind of elaborating on your high school, what did they do to help combat the spread of the virus?
Hannah Tedawes 3:11
So my high school actually shut down completely, there was nobody allowed in the school. And we decided to take classes online. So all of our classes were through Zoom or Google Hangouts, and the teachers would post their videos about their lectures, and then we do homework, and it kind of became the new normal. And we all adjusted to the new way that the school system was going to work.
Interviewer 3:36
Can you please elaborate on how it was like being a high school senior during this pandemic?
Hannah Tedawes 3:41
Um, I think as a senior, it really was difficult for me because I was kind of supposed to end high school with my friends and my family and kind of like a celebration in a way. But instead, I really didn't get the closure I wanted. We didn't have a graduation because we, my school deemed unsafe. So we had like a drive through graduation, which isn't really the same. Our prom got canceled, our senior trip got canceled, our senior break got canceled. So all these events that kind of close up senior year and allow us to start the new chapter of our lives didn't really happen. So I think it was hard as either a high school or college senior to find that closure.
Interviewer 4:28
Did you have a job during this time? If so, how did- how did this affect your work?
Hannah Tedawes 4:32
I did have a job. I was actually a karate instructor in a town 30 minutes away from mine. And I decided that I would quit my job because there was a lot of in person contact with other people and Danbury was a town that had a higher spreading than my town did, so I didn't want to put my family or my friends at risk by spreading the virus to them so I quit my job as soon as my school shut down. And I kind of use that as a marker for my actions.
Interviewer 5:05
Looking forward, when this pandemic is over, what effect do you think it’ll have on your daily life?
Hannah Tedawes 5:10
I think it's already affecting our daily lives, and not just mine, but as a society as a whole. I think wearing masks is going to be a normal thing. I think we're all going to be conscious of, of gatherings in large groups and being in contact with people. And I think we're gonna have more information of- about our health in general, and we're going to want to seek out more information, which I think is beneficial, because it's gonna help the spread of future pandemics. I think it will also make society more efficient, because we're not going to have to wait in line to get food anymore or wait in line to go into a store. I think everything will be more efficient because of the technology that we created as a result of this pandemic. So everything will be online and easier and faster, and everything will go smoother. But I think the negative aspect to that is that there will be less time for socialization. And people are more likely to stay at home versus going out and seeing friends even way after the pandemic, which I think is a negative thing because we need to socialize as human beings, and that's part of our nature and part of our species. But I think overall, it will have a positive effect, and we’ll be more conscious for future pandemics.
Interviewer 6:30
Thank you. That's all.
Hannah Tedawes 6:31
Thank you.