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2020-10-10
Learning to Disc Golf
A theme that I have been focusing on is how people have coped with the affects of the pandemic. Many people have picked up new hobbies, ways to spend their time, but safely. A lot of my friends have picked up disc golf. Disc golf is something that people of all ages can do, as it is not taxing on the body. Additionally, it is something that you can either do with others or alone. And, it is something that people can do safely, while facing Covid-19. I had never heard of disk golfing before this, so it was interesting to see so many of my friends pick it up in an effort to safely pass time. We all have found new ways to cope. -
2020-08-11
Learning through a Pandemic
From my senior year in high school to my Freshman year in college, the way I would attend class had drastically changed. However I wasn't alone in this change. Students, teachers, and professors all around the world found themselves having to adapt to a new form of teaching. A tool that we all had to learn to use was zoom. Unable to attend in person class led to the development of this so-called new “classroom”. Across the world we would now find ourselves logging in to zoom on our computers to attend class. For many of us, me included, the college experience had simply become waking up in my room. -
2020-05-10
Learning How to Orienteer in Finland
This picture is a picture of my friend, Linda, orienteering. Now if you're confused about what orienteering is, you are not alone. When I first reached out to her to see if she had picked up any new hobbies while in quarantine, I was also very confused by her response. It turns out, orienteering is the sport of navigation; you are given a compass and a map and are tasked with trying to find your way. I had never heard of orienteering before I asked Linda about it, but it turns out it is not exclusive to Finland and is also a competitive sport in some places in the United States. Linda told me that she picked up orienteering as a way to get outside and enjoy nature while fulfilling her competitive drive. If it weren't for the pandemic, she wouldn't have been inspired to try out this new favorite hobby of hers and now new favorite competition. Covid-19 has introduced not only her, but me as well to the sport of orienteering. -
2021-08-17
Last Minute Changes in Teaching
For Fall 2021, some teachers gave the option to zoom into class for students who were not comfortable being present in person. Out of my five classes, only two had this option specifically stated. I planned to attend all classes in person but the day before class was due to start one teacher switched to remote only. Initially, I was okay with it. It was the first class of the day so maybe I wouldn't have to get up so early. Then I realized I would have to wake up early anyway. The class after the remote one was ten minutes after. I would of had to rush even if the class was on campus. Situations like these showed that things were even unexpectedly changing for teachers. While the situation may have slightly inconvenienced me, I'm sure it wasn't ideal for the teacher either. -
2020-04-27
Keeping Traditions: Students Shift to Virtual Events During a Global Pandemic
The post is on the St Mary’s student life Instagram page and contains an image of an electronic flyer/bulletin announcement. It is a post to announce an Instagram live stream for St. Mary’s students where there will be cooking lessons, trivia, study tips, DIY projects, Spirit Dress contest, gift cards giveaways and more. Just like how St. Mary's students would use this platform to announce things such a trivia night at the pub on campus, they began to use it to announce online events. This item shows how universities and organizations have had to adapt in order to keep going with their extracurricular activities and traditions that students look forward too. They have always worked hard to keep the student entertained and give them things to do outside of class, however, with COVID, they've had to be more creative and think of activities to do on any online platforms such as Zoom, or in this case, an Instagram live stream. In the end, it is important to try and keep the fun activities and traditions alive and going so that the students can feel as though, even though things are being done on online platforms instead of in person like before, their academic years are still filled with the exiting activities and things they love about being a student. -
2020-09-02
Keeping in Touch With Angie
COVID-19 has affected several of my relationships and how I have stayed in contact with friends. I wanted to talk about how COVID-19 has changed my interactions with one of my friends, Angie. I have known Angie for several years but we became really close friends when we attended the same church congregation in Provo, Utah from 2015-2016. When I graduated from school in Spring 2018, I moved away from Provo for an internship and I haven’t lived in Provo since. Angie also graduated around the same time and she continued to work in the same area. Normally, Angie and I will visit one another every other month and get lunch or I would spend the weekend with her at her apartment. The last time I was with Angie before COVID-19 lockdown began was in February. I was staying with her for a weekend in Provo, Utah for a wedding. On February 7, we got Korean BBQ bowls and went to an art museum. The next morning we woke up early and got kolaches. And I was thinking we’d get together soon in another month or so. For Angie’s birthday that same month, I sent her a sun hat because we made plans with our other two friends to go to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in June. But with the news of the onset of COVID-19 a few weeks later, we ended up canceling those plans. After a FaceTime call in April, we both figured out that we needed ways to stay connected while social-distancing safely. However, we didn’t have any new things to report because we were social-distancing. So we started our audiobook club to give ourselves something to chat about. So far we have listened and discussed The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, and White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. We are currently listening to Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood. Neither of us remembered who suggested our book club, but I’m glad we have stayed connected through it. Both Angie and I have enjoyed each of these books. They have made us much more knowledgeable about the world around us and I like discussing them with Angie. My favorite book we read together was White Fragility. We read it in response to the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. As white women, we realized we needed to better educate ourselves. We had a tough conversation, but I’m glad I had it with Angie who is incredibly compassionate and thoughtful. Besides our book club, we have had video chats with some other friends and we’ve texted one another. I finally saw Angie in person while she was passing through where I lived. We cautiously sat outside 6 feet apart and ate popsicles on my grass lawn. And I met her boyfriend for the first time! The pandemic has changed how I connect with my friends. I rely much more on technology and scheduled calls. I have learned to cut myself and others some slack for this situation because there is so much more social friction than before. Weirdly enough,in some ways it has helped with my social anxiety because I don’t feel FOMO (a.k.a. The “fear of missing out”). We’re all in the same crappy boat. The pandemic has also helped me think about why certain people are my friends. Now it’s less about proximity or someone’s availability but more so about someone’s loyalty, kind heart, or strong values. -
11/22/2020
Kalin Morphet Oral History, 2020/11/22
This interview is with one of my closest friends. Although we talk all the time, and are a part of each other daily lives interviewing her in this kind of almost formal format and asking her very pointed questions that I don't typically ask was a bit eye opening. I already knew a lot of what she said, but to hear it all laid out and not intertwined and in bits between the busyness our lives really opened my eyes to how much our lives has had to change because of COVID-19, even as we continue to chug along. I think this is important to know because so often we're bogged down with continuing to go though the motions and check boxes we forget to slow down and think about the circumstances of out situation with COVID. -
2021-12-03
Kaitlin Teniente Oral History, 2021/12/03
An interview with the Director of Esports at St. Mary's University, Kaitlin Teniente, discussing how the pandemic affected interacting with the students through esports and other casual videogame events. -
10/24/2020
Julian Dziuda Oral History, 2020/10/24
This is an interview with Julian Dziuda. He is a student athlete (soccer) with St. Mary's University. -
2020-11
Journal Entry: Thoughts on the first semester of grad school.
This is less of an entry and more of a summary of how my year has gone? I'm trying to write without too much filter, to really capture the raw emotions of the pandemic. It's been a weird, and rough semester. A positive is that due to the pandemic, I was able to get into a school I had been interested in for quite a while. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get in, but I had a much better chance of doing so, than I did before when online classes weren't offered for my major. I did get in, at the last minute and picked my classes the day before the semester started! I needed a laptop, which were certainly in short supply, but luckily there were some available. When my laptop was stolen, and a webcam was a more immediate option for an older computer, that was more difficult to obtain. I hadn't even considered that they were in short supply but almost every cheap to middle priced webcam were sold out. I definitely didn't think this is what my first semester of graduate school would be like when I started. One class ended in a project showcase that felt far differently than it would have had we been able to present in person. Juggling the semester and also working at night was certainly not something I expected to be doing. During the nights we (my coworkers and I) would be frantically trying to stock canned goods, paper goods, and other items in high demand, just to watch it all be bought within 30 minutes of the store opening for the day. This is also on top of trying to run the store normally. It was very surreal to go in and see shelf after shelf empty and ransacked, as if a hurricane was on the way. All in all, I'm not thankful for the pandemic, but being able to find positives, and to be grateful for the opportunities afforded me is healthier than focusing on the negatives. -
2020-11-08
Journal Entry: Grad School in Quarantine
This year has been an experience to say the least. After graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio I began to prepare for my masters program in Public History at St. Mary's University. I wasn't sure how my first year of grad school would go but I certainly never expected it to be like this. I haven't met most of my professors or classmates and I've had to be a lot more flexible and focused than I normally would be. However, I can't help but think about how lucky I am to be able to go grad school at all, let alone during a pandemic. I am extremely grateful for my program and those in it, they have been so supportive and kind. I feel bad for students whose professors don't have as much empathy or kindness when it comes to turning in assignments or having questions. Without the endless support from my colleagues I wouldn't be here today and I can't wait to continue learning with them, even if it is through online learning and not in-person. I think this will make any time we have in person special and memorable. -
2021-12-03
Jorge Martinez Oral History, 2021/12/03
Student Jorge Martinez relates how his experience as a St. Mary's University student living on campus for the first time in Fall 2020 amid the pandemic. Jorge was able to contact the office of student retention and Student Life to support the challenges he was facing during the pandemic. -
10/16/2020
Jorge Martinez Oral History, 2020/10/16
An interview between a student of St. Mary's University who is involved with the university's Drama Department talks about the challenges of the recent school semester in the current circumstances and how the Department is working to overcome them and plans for the future. Interview conducted by myself. -
2021-10-14
Jobs/Businesses Closed during Covid-19 Pandemic
I want to begin that looking through google website I found some interesting images that went well with what I believe are very important reminders of how and when the pandemic just hit San Antonio. This is important to me because it is a reminder of when businesses/schools were closing and people were losing their jobs and being furloughed had no clue where this pandemic was taking us and so many people lost their homes, no way to put food on tables, or pay bills, etc. Not knowing if we would ever come back to the job we once had and relied on for many years a change that no one knew how it would impact our lives dramatically. For me personally at my employment when I received an email that they will soon let people go from their jobs or furloughed I was worried out of my mind, and a constant thought, of “What will I do if I lose my job.” Something like this can never be forgotten and is a reminder of how our lives can change due to a pandemic that no one ever thought would ever happen and not even prepared for. -
2020-06-09
JBS Meatpacking Plant Outbreak
I wanted to include these news articles about an event that happened in my community. 287 workers at JBS meatpacking plant tested positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of Summer 2020. I am ~somewhat~ familiar with this meatpacking plant. When I attended Mountain Crest High School in Hyrum, I ran cross country and one of our running routes required us to pass this building. I usually did not like this route because the smell combined with running often made me nauseous. I believe it was bought or acquired since my running days by JBS because we used to refer to this place as “Miller’s”. Fast forward about nine years later when these news articles were published. This was the first huge outbreak in Cache Valley. It took some time before COVID-19 hit Northern Utah. Yeah, I think we had a few cases here and there. But it always felt “manageable” to me before this event. But with this outbreak, I began feeling unsafe in my corner of the world. I was especially upset at the injustice of this situation because most of the workers at JBS were Hispanic/Latinx. It felt like no measures, like paid leave or free testing services, were being taken to protect these workers. According to a Bear River Health Department report for June 1, 2020, Hispanic/Latinx accounted for more than 40% of COVID cases. Yet, only about 10% of the population here is Hispanic/Latinx. I strongly feel that this is because of JBS. I feel frustrated living here in Utah during the pandemic. So many people do not care about the situation we are in. Meanwhile, there are people who make sacrifices by working on the “front lines”. For the Hispanic/Latinx community in Cache Valley, it doesn’t feel like a voluntary sacrifice. But rather, another example of unfair systemic racism. Meanwhile, it seems so trivial and unjust that my community still insisted on having a county fair and little league baseball this year. I understand the economic consequences and reasons why people are hesitant to take precautions in certain situations. It is complicated and we don’t really have a great safety net for people in America. That being said, I hate seeing the flippant attitudes while people are literally dying. This weekend, we reached a record spike in COVID cases in Utah. And Election Day is this week. I feel so anxious all the time. And I am trying to reach for some peace wherever I can find it. I really hope that soon we will start taking this pandemic seriously. -
2021-11-29
Jacqueline Mendez Oral History, 2021/11/29
This is an interview with Zaragoza Leader Jacqueline Mendez about her experience as a student orientation leader during the summer of 2021. She describes her role as a Zaragoza leader and how her student orientation experience prior to the pandemic differed from those of her students during the summer with COVID-19. This interview offers personal insight to the effects of the pandemic as a new student attending St. Mary's. Jackie was able to connect her experience as a leader during the pandemic to her time enjoying Zaragoza as a new student prior to the pandemic. She describes the precautions that the university took during the summer during June of 2021 and August of 2021 when variants of the virus were changing and the state adopted different CDC guidelines. -
11/08/2020
Jacoby Mena Oral History, 2020/11/08
Jacoby Mena, a 9th grade student, shares his views on staying home, the BLM movement, anti-maskers, and staying safe during the pandemic. -
2021-12-03
Jacob Guerra Oral History, 2021/12/03
I conducted an interview with Jacob Guerra. It was my pleasure listening to his perspective and learning more about his insight in reference to COVID 19. -
2020-11-16
item: Learning to Play Piano
My roommate Vanessa decided to take advantage of the online classes available at our university and decided this was the year that she would learn piano. She had always wanted to learn how to play piano, but had never had the time to drive out to lessons. St. Mary's University this year was offering all music classes online and she decided to take advantage of this opportunity. Piano has become her new hobby, her new way to relax. As her roommate, I have had the unique opportunity to listen to her skills grow from the beginning of August to now. She said if it hadn't been for Covid-19, she would have never thought to have taken piano or had the opportunity to learn a new skill. There are some silver linings in this pandemic and some of them have come in the form of new hobbies and talents. -
2020-11-16
Isolation Art
Isolation Art, 2020 Acrylic on canvas, 36x24 Between March 24th and June I was working remotely, and terrified to leave the house. I tried to get into new hobbies and thought that FaceTime would be sufficient for human connection, but it was not. Several personal milestones were accomplished during those months and not being able to physically be with my family was tough. The anniversary of my father’s death was the most difficult even to grapple with alone, but I could not help but wonder who else had lost their father that day because of COVID. So, I painted. It’s difficult to tell, but the words on the canvas read, “I’m so fucking sad. I see and I don’t care.” The headspace I was in was not a good one but I am grateful that I was able to get out what I needed to when I needed to. I listened to the news daily and every time that number rose my heart sank further and my anxiety deeper. I have since repurposed the canvas and painted over it, but this photo remains. -
2020-08-11
Ipads and Chromebooks: The New Notebooks
Following the reopening of schools through the virtual world a number of students across the country were faced with a new problem. They lacked the technology needed to attend their online class. Schools who fell under the title 1 classification , which is where children from low-income families make up at least 40 percent of the enrollment, were disproportionately affected by this problem. These families which often consisted of more than one child simply couldn't afford multiple computers. As a result many kids were still unable to attend their classes or do any work at all. This lack of technology was a problem that not only younger kids faced. Students ranging from all ages had to adapt and make due with whatever technology they had or were forced to go out to buy another computer.So in order to help fix the problem for younger students schools began to hand out chromebooks and ipads. By providing them with the technology to access their new classroom setting they could begin attending school again. While there were still other problems such as the lack of internet, handing out chromebooks and ipads definitely had a positive impact by providing a number of students with these new school supplies. -
2020-07-14
International Students Fear Deportation For Taking Online Classes
The article is titled "In reversal, federal government will allow international students to stay in the U.S. while taking only online classes," published by The Texas Tribune and written by Raga Justin. The article covers a huge issue that impacted international students as U.S. universities were making final decisions having whether they were conducting virtual or in-person classes in response to the pandemic. In the summer of 2020, the Trump administration had announced that international college and university students would be deported if they were enrolled in only online classes for the fall 2020 semester. The potential for international students to be deported for the fall semester was frightening as many students faced uncertainty about how the upcoming semester would go. This terrifying for schools like St. Mary's, with a large international student population from all over the world. Fortunately, in early July, Federal officials reversed the policy so international students could stay in the U.S. while taking online courses for safety. -
2020-10-26
Inside an In-Person Virtual classroom
These are six photographs I took of objects in my education classroom at St. Mary's University-San Antonio. My education course is the only course that I am taking in person. The classroom environment is very different from that of a pre-pandemic classroom. The biggest differences are the number of students present in the classroom and the seating layout. I am one of two, sometimes three, students who attend the class in person. We are only allowed to sit in socially distanced seats marked by a brown paper rectangle; all other seats are required to be empty. Most of the cleaning takes place both before and after students arrive and leave class. My professor uses the disinfectant spray and wipes pictured here to clean the tables. Included also in these photographs are the instructions for using the disinfectant in both English and Spanish. -
2020-11
Increased Restrictions to Entrances and Exits on Campus
This photo was taken of a sign within the athletics and recreation building at St. Mary's University. The sign and border disallow people to take an exit they would normally prefer and pushes them to use the marked exit near the entrance so that staff can have an idea of who is in the building when they are supposed to be. -
2021-08-17
I have to do WHAT to my syllabus???
This is a screenshot of my theology class syllabus including the newly included "face mask policy." I think this is important to include because even though all professors need to include the same information about mask policies, there are some who have just included what needed to be and other who have mentioned it in other areas of their syllabus. It's also interesting to see that this could be the first major change made to some of the professor's syllabi in some time. I submitted this item because it's a part of people's reaction to this pandemic and it heavily influenced changes in our "first-day of class routine." Coming back to school in-person after a whole year online, it was interesting to see how professors were now sharing more personal details about why they are being more careful, checking that students are wearing masks correctly, and some professors being more strict or lenient with the food/drink policy. -
2020-11-05
Hurricane Eta: Tragedy in Honduras
This is a video that has surfaced on Instagram the night of November 5th. Hurricane Eta has hit Honduras bring flooding and catastrophic damage to the country. This is a video of Toncotín, Tegucigalpa's International Airport. This video is alarming for many St. Mary's International Students from Honduras because of the implications this destruction has on their future. For many students studying remotely in Honduras, this means that they may not be able to come to the United States to study next semester, and for those on campus, it means they may not be able to return home in December. With all the uncertainty that the pandemic has caused, this hurricane has created yet another enormous challenge. -
2020
HS 3390A Cover Your Fangs St. Mary's University Lesson Plan
Assignment prompt given to St. Mary's University Students in HS 3390A taught by Lindsey Passenger, Fall 2020 -
2020-11-01
How Will I Pay for My Master’s as a Retired Reservist with No Income?
After graduating with an undergrad in History in the fall of 2019, my goal was to continue my education in Public History. A Graduate Program had opened recently at St. Mary’s University in my hometown of San Antonio TX. That meant that I did not have to commute to Texas State that was approximately 65 miles away, and an hour drive with no traffic – maybe two hours, or more with traffic. I had exhausted my GI Bill Chapter 33 and did not know how I was supposed to fund my continuing education. My loans were adding up and I was not sure of registering for my master’s degree. Talking with the school’s VA office I was encouraged to contact the Veterans Administration to speak with some one that worked with the Vocational Rehab department; that is something that I had already pursued prior to this event, and I was denied service. This is an email shared between me and a VA representative in the middle of 2020. Communication during the Covid-19 pandemic, and summer vacations was making things tough to complete. With the start of these events I was hoping for financial support for my summer II class. -
2020-03-03
How To Get Your Workplace Ready For Covid-19
The World Health Organization released a document on March 3rd, 2020 and it gives advice on how a company should deal with the coronavirus. Within the document it highlights four main topics, simple ways to prevent the spread of covid-19, how to manage covid-19 when organizing meetings and events, things to consider when you employees travel and finally getting the workplace ready for covid-19 in case it arrives in your community. The WHO recommends that companies make sure that the workplace is clean and hygienic by wiping down surfaces that are frequently touched and used. Also promote that everyone is washing their hands. WHO recommends also to have a plan of attack of what to do if someone becomes ill with covid-19 in the workplace. -
2020-03-20
How To Be a Resident Assistant During Covid-19
This is a pdf of the resident assistant job description when St. Mary's University decided to go virtual. The described duties of the resident assistant showcase how St. Mary's Residence life was trying to serve students regardless of being off-campus. The job description really shows the sense of community that exists on campus and persevered virtually. As a freshman during Spring 2020, I along with many others, never expected to be sent home. I also never expected an institution to care so much about the well-being of its students especially when the whole world was in chaos at the time. However, as seen here, even student staff like resident assistants reached out and made themselves available to their peers. Resident assistants had 1:1 conversations with residents at home designed to check-in and share resources. Even the resident assistants themselves were required to have one-on-one meetings with their supervisors also to check-in. While student staff was trying to facilitate community and safety virtually, they too were being taken care of by residence life. -
2020-09-25
How St. Mary's University Clubs are recruiting first time freshmen
The flyer shows the new efforts St. Mary's clubs have to make in order to recruit new freshmen who may not know anything about the clubs at the university. It also portrays the disconnect the freshmen are feeling when they are not able to attend these meetings in person. Overall, the pandemic has played a significant role on students roles to meet students and join clubs. As a freshman myself, I feel like their is a huge difference between me and the upperclassmen. They got to experience things I couldn't including clubs. When I read the flyer, I definitely felt like I was missing out. -
2020-07-22
How it started v. How it's going: How StMU planned to incorporate COVID-19 precautions for the Fall 2020 semester and how that's played out
These images are screenshots of emails from St. Mary’s University detailing how the university will adapt for the Fall 2020 semester, updating students on the ongoing changes to in-person classes, tracking the number of COVID-19 cases throughout the summer and into the fall, and showing how St. Mary’s slowly begins to open up and allow in-person gatherings. In the beginning of the semester, St. Mary’s University was very cautious in thinking of how and when to resume in-person classes and welcome students back to campus. The first couple of weeks were strictly virtual, and this virtual learning was even extended in response to a mild spike in cases across San Antonio. Classes resumed in person one week after the Labor Day weekend, and St. Mary’s didn’t experience a significant outbreak in those initial weeks. Towards the end of September, the number of COVID-19 cases began to mildly grow. As of right now, the University has had 25 COVID-19 cases since March 2020. In October, keeping up with Halloween and other events to come, St. Mary’s began allowing small in-person events. These events were usually outside, with the exception of some indoors. All events have a maximum number of students allowed to participate, and some even require temperature checks and confirmation of negative tests. I, at first, thought it was concerning that as the number of COVID-19 cases in the St. Mary’s University community grew, campus began and continued to organize and advertise on-campus gatherings. I was afraid that St. Mary’s was giving in to the celebratory attitude across the city for “Spooky Season” and fall weather, but neglecting the health of students. However, I think St. Mary’s has been doing the best job they can to provide the “college experience” within the safety parameters set by the CDC. Our mild number of cases may be considered an accomplishment when compared to larger outbreaks at a number of universities such as Baylor, Angelo State, Sam Houston State, Texas Tech, and Wayland Baptist (to name a few). The New York Times breaks down campus outbreaks for most campuses in each state linked in this post. The number of COVID cases began slowly rising towards the end of September, which is also when campus organizations began hosting in-person events. Despite happening simultaneously, there has not been a major spike following these events (so far). In speaking with resident students, the attitude shared on campus seems to be one of caution, which starts at the top. St. Mary’s is not just implementing social distancing and capacity limits in classes and events, the university is maintaining these standards within all campus facilities and student are complying. Reflecting on these emails and thinking about Texas universities all together, I consider myself fortunate. I’m thinking that because San Antonio has a harder history with COVID-19 in the city, our universities are more diligent than those situated in towns or cities that are not. It can feel like campuses are a completely different town within a city or town, but I think St. Mary’s sees themselves as part of the larger San Antonio community. -
2020-10-27
How has COVID-19 challenged your VA 2020 school registration?
Reaching out to my school's student veterans, I was able to acquire one response. I emailed out a few questions about how the Covid-19 pandemic effected their registration process, and any other thoughts that may pertain to school and the pandemic. Even for myself, trying to find volunteers to participate in this project is difficult; not being able to visit the campus and collaborate with classmates proved I did not have an abundance of volunteers to work with at a moments notice. Before the pandemic we were able to ask for almost anyone's help with school projects, something that seems like a luxury at this time in the middle of Covid-19. I want to thank the individual for participating in my project, and wish them well with their classes throughout this difficult times that we are experiencing. -
2020-10-27
How am I Supposed to be a Student When the World is Burning Down Around Me? A Student’s Personal Experience
I wanted to share the kitchen table's image in my family's house because it has become my workspace and classroom. I have my laptop, water, and food in the image because the virtual college has become a non-stop task. As an undergraduate student transitioning to virtual learning, I have struggled greatly. The weekdays are filled with zoom classes, discussion boards, dozens of essays, and monotonous assignments that feel like busywork. Weekdays and weekends are the same. Universities and professors have maintained high expectations for students even though we are in a pandemic, economic depression, detrimental election year, and significant social justice movement. Most days, I struggle to want to be the best student I can be when I feel less like a person. It is difficult to get out of bed, especially as hope fades every day with an increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths, people becoming jobless, homeless, and the human rights of so many people being violated. It feels insane sometimes to log on for hours when the world seems to be burning down around me. -
2020-10-06
How acting changes during the age of COVID
This document is a list of requirements and guidelines for the attendance of a an acting workshop I was a part of in October of this year, as a part of a larger project the Drama Department at my university, St. Mary's was and is attempting to create a new and safer theatre experience for the coming semesters. The workshop we attended was, of course, created with the intent for attendees to participate in-person. Despite this, however, as the requirements here show, the fact that that was impossible, or at least very ill-advised, not only wasn't enough to prevent it from happening, it may have helped it in a good number of ways. For a first example, the individuals in charge of the workshop, affiliated with The Tectonic Theatre, were situated in New York, as opposed to my university being located in San Antonio Texas. The fact that the workshop was held virtually actually made it much more realistically approachable as otherwise the distance would have complicated matters considerably, which was taken care of in that way. In the same vein, as the requirements hint at with the items that are required, is that each person who participated was able to use their surroundings, almost exclusively their own homes, which they were of course very familiar with, to great affect for the exercises that were given to them. In fact, despite the initial misgivings that many of us-myself included-initially had, the workshop was able to take place not only just as well as it would have had it been in person, but in my personal opinion, it might have gone even better. All in all, the workshop was a pretty impressive look at overcoming complications from this pandemic and working around them to make the virtual experience lose nothing from an in-person experience. -
2021-10-27
Hour Alterations
The pandemic brought a lot of changes in our work environments and that includes the changes in business hours. At St. Mary's University, these screenshots show the hour alterations to on-campus facilities, since January, and the new rules that are to be followed by all. -
2021-09-22
Helping Others during Covid-19 Pandemic
This is an excerpt from a video interview with Sister Grace that I and another student in my class did for a work project. Sister Grace is the Chaplin of the Law School at St. Mary’s University. Sister Grace graduated from St. Mary’s 1978 and worked in the undergrad Ministry and by 1993-94 in Law Ministry. Sister Grace has enjoyed watching students grow and succeed to becoming great people for the community. I used this excerpt because Sister Grace is someone who helps out the students and community and during the pandemic, she met a lot of people that ere going through hard times. Her and the church got together to help distribute food and clothing to the homeless, or whoever needed aid during the pandemic. She wanted to make sure everyone in the community was taken care of. Also, she even talks about how she got plenty of time to do more things during quarantine. -
10/22/2020
Gwyn Hartung Oral History, 2020/10/22
This is an interview with St.Mary's University Public History Graduate Student Gywn Hartung. Gwyn recently graduated from UTSA with an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and classical studies. She is currently in her first year of graduate school and began it entirely online. In the interview, Gwyn described her first semester of graduate school and how her mental health has been impacted by the combination of COVID-19 and transition to online school. Gwyn's experience is significant because many students in the fall 2020 semester face various obstacles with maintaining their social lives, productivity with school, and staying physically and mentally healthy. -
2020-07-14
Grandfather, Son, and Granddaughter Reunited at Last
While serving with the Texas Army National Guard on the COVID-19 Relief Mission in Houston, TX, Josh Farrar was visited by his parents, wife, and daughters when he was given a day off by his Commander. In order to get outside, they all went to the park. This video is of the granddaughter and grandfather playing on a slide while the father (Josh Farrar) interacts with his dad. This video is important as it shows an extended family interacting during the pandemic in an outside venue while a family member is supporting the COVID-19 Relief Mission. This day was very supportive and therapeutic for the Soldier after months dealing with COVID-19 testing. -
2020-05-09
Graduating in the Age of COVID-19
I graduated from Texas A&M with my PhD in Anthropology in May 2020. The graduation was in early May. I had defended my dissertation in late January and was working as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M and as an instructor at Blinn College when the COVID-19 came to Texas in March 2020. My jobs went online for a month, then I was activated with the National Guard on 18April2020. In this photograph from early May, I am attending my remote graduation ceremony from my workspace at the Region 6 COIVD-19 Response headquarters in Houston, TX. -
2020-06
Graduating in a Pandemic: St. Mary's University Hosts Diploma Pick Up
The object is a post from St.Mary's University Linkedin account. The account posted pictures of seniors picking up their diplomas from campus. Amidst the first few months of COVID-19, many changes occurred, especially in academia's traditional spaces. A huge tradition and milestone for students was the spring 2020 graduation. Many Universities, including St.Mary's, held virtual commencement ceremonies that included words from faculty and a program that listed every graduate's name with their major and any awards or affiliations. To provide students their physical degrees, many schools mailed degrees to students, but St.Mary held an event where students and their families could come to campus and pick up their diploma. Hosting an event like this for students and their families was significant because not having a traditional graduation ceremony was a significant loss for those working towards walking the stage. St. Mary's University has a diverse student body of international and first-generation students. All students dream of walking on the stage to get the rewards of their hard work in college. This was not just a loss for students but also family members looking forward to a significant moment. To give students and their families the rewarding celebrity moment, St.Mary's staff and faculty hosted a diploma pickup with safety precautions. -
2021-11-01
Getting Funds to get Students Home due to COVID-19 Pandemic
When this series of emails was sent to St. Mary's Faculty and Staff it really hit hard and really touched me. I didn't realize that some students did not have any means of getting back home, students were not prepared for this at all and due to the pandemic all dorms and classes were cancelled, they were worried they would not make it home. So, St. Mary's sent an email out reaching out to everyone that was able to give funds and send students home. When this pandemic hit us no one was prepared for what was to come. -
2020-11-19
Fun Activities to Help Calm your Anxiety
St. Mary's has provided fun and safe activities for people on campus but also off campus students can participate in. These two examples having a Grinch watch party by using a link can take you're mind off of exams but also can help you relax from everything that is going on in the world. The other example is painting with a twist not only can you do it online via Zoom but they provided you with the supplies you might need to paint. Painting and watching movies are ways to help anyone take their mind off different situations and give us a sense of peace. Even though we can't be physically together during this time we are still doing events that make it seem like not much has changed and can still keep us close together even at a distance. -
2020-11-13
Full-Virtual Work in the Middle of a Pandemic
This document was created and shared by myself and some coworkers in the History department at my university, St. Mary's. This document was the result of a project we were all assigned to work together on regarding researching the African-American community in West San Antonio, Texas. The work was not easy. Being separated from each other meant coordination and collaboration were very difficult, and actually accomplishing much in the way of actual work was slow going, with few of us actually being able to work together at the times the others were available. Not helping in any way was the fact that working remotely left us with almost no oversight from our supervisor, who was also in charge of several other projects in the department. Our research also took many different forms before settling on the one it ended up in, and it suffered most greatly from most of the workers assigned not being in the city we needed to be in, not having access to any traditional resources like proper records or non-digital resources that might have gone into the detail that we needed, and of course being unable to properly help each other. Despite this however, when we finally were able to coordinate a time to collaborate and work together, we surprisingly were able to unearth the aspect shown here, the resurrection of the Keyhole Club by noted Jazz musician Don Albert, famous for being a fully racially integrated nightclub during a time when such a thing was unheard of, and was challenged. Despite some serious challenges of our own, my coworkers and I were able to emerge successful after all and provide some much-needed information to the assignment. -
2020-08-12
From Notebooks to Ipads and Chromebooks
Following the reopening of schools through the virtual world a number of students across the country were faced with a new problem. They lacked the technology needed to attend their online class. Schools who fell under the title 1 classification , which is where children from low-income families make up at least 40 percent of the enrollment, were disproportionately affected by this problem. These families which often consisted of more than one child simply couldn't afford multiple computers. As a result many kids were still unable to attend their classes or do any work at all. This lack of technology was a problem that not only younger kids faced. Students ranging from all ages had to adapt and make due with whatever technology they had or were forced to go out to buy another computer.So in order to help fix the problem for younger students schools began to hand out chromebooks and ipads. By providing them with the technology to access their new classroom setting they could begin attending school again. While there were still other problems such as the lack of internet, handing out chromebooks and ipads definitely had a positive impact by providing a number of students with these new school supplies. -
2021-11-01
From Every Part of the World! - St. Mary's International Students Map
This map shows how many international students St. Mary's University has in Fall 2021. This year St. Mary's received approximately 50 new international students which is only half of the total they were supposed to have in Fall 2021. In Spring 2022 they hope to receive more than 30 international students, making this map just bigger. The biggest amount of International Students St. Mary's has come from Peru and Honduras, with a total of 25 students. Mexico goes in second place with 24 students and in third place, Saudi Arabia with 18 students. -
2020-03-30
From Dine In to Takeout: Staying Connected With Thai Dee Restaurant
For my friends and I, Thai Dee is our most cherished gathering spot. It is a local San Antonio restaurant that is tucked away in a small building next to a convenience store. The restaurant is centrally located and 15 minutes away from where we all live and work. Thai Dee is the community dining room for my family and friends. We celebrate all our special occasions here in addition to frequenting the restaurant on a weekly basis. It is both a treat and a part of our daily lives to eat at Thai Dee as it is for hundreds of other customers. These last few months have felt strange not being able to eat inside their restaurant. The pandemic hit Thai Dee hard at first. In March they had to lay off all their waitstaff and close their busy dining room. I was laid off from my full-time job too, but I continued to support them with the little money I earned from my part-time job. I turned my weekly dine-in visits to takeout orders. I did my best to support them, but instead I found that they wanted to support me. The family who owns the restaurant has always treated me like a member of their family. When they found out that I had been laid off, the owner sweetly yet sternly told me not to leave them tips anymore. She advised me to save up all the money I had and assured me that they were okay. She would not process any tips I tried to leave on my card. Her son then told me that if I ever got to a point where I was hungry and had no money that I should call him. He would never let me go hungry. I thanked them and started crying as soon as I exited the building. I felt so loved and cared for in that moment. When I opened my bag of food, I found a complimentary order of mango and sweet sticky rice—my favorite dessert. They have since done this for me several times. Back in March I didn’t know if I would be able to return to my job, or if the company was just going to fold. I never shared these anxieties with them, and yet they helped ease them with their kind gestures. The closure of Thai Dee’s dining room saw business slow down at first. When this happened, I sent a text to my friends who immediately went and ordered food. My friends and other regular customers are now back in the habit of ordering Thai Dee’s on a regular basis. Thai Dee has many other loyal customers who love the restaurant and family as much as I do. The walls are adorned with Christmas cards, postcards, and photographs of newborn babies all given to them by devoted patrons. Even former San Antonio Spur, Sean Elliot, has several photos with the Thai Dee crew on the wall. For myself and other regulars, not a week goes by where I don’t go to Thai Dee. My visits give me a sense of normalcy. Even though I miss the social gathering space their dining room provided, I still get to eat the best Thai food in San Antonio and check in with my dear friends who own the restaurant. If I did not have regular access to them my pandemic experience would be miserable. Thai Dee is an icon of San Antonio and they have helped me through this time more than they know. Although Covid-19 disrupted my dining experience, it only strengthened my patronage and bond with the Thai Dee family. -
2020-11-16
Freshmen Study Lifesaver
Going to college is very difficult. I think anyone can agree with that especially if someone's never been to college. When I started, I was immediately caught off guard. I never knew when my assignments were, and I occasionally missed assignments. There was something about this online experience that really made it difficult, so I went in search of something to help. The screenshot is of my schedule early in the year when I finally decided to utilize Google Calendar. It was by far the best decision I made this semester, and it is my best advice for anyone (especially freshmen) looking to get more organized. Covid may have changed what college would normally look like, but it has taught me to adapt during this hard time. Google calendars was just a new way of me doing it. -
2020-08-11
Fresh Look at the Outdated Classroom
Online was the new way of providing lessons, assigning classroom activities, and laying out information for students across all ages. Sites like google classroom, canvas, blackboard, and seesaw suddenly became teachers and professors only way of providing students with a "classroom". In the first picture we see an example of an elementary school platform, in the next image is a middle school layout, and the final image is of the new college format. All three platforms provided students with a visual way to remain in contact with their educators in a time where we couldn't meet. They were our way of adjusting to the new situation we were all stuck in. However, despite providing us with the benefits of being connected without having to meet in person, there were still a few shortcomings. Because of the lack of in person class we couldn’t form connection with each other. That was a struggle for kids and teachers/professors alike. There remained a barrier between each other. -
2020-11-13
Free COVID-19 Testing
This email was sent to me to set up an appointment to get a free COVID-19 test done at my school. This goes to show how the University is taking top priority in not only helping the St.Mary's community. This is helpful because not many students can afford to go get tested and now that we are going on break the University wants to take extra precaution. These screen shots are really important to keep as a reminder that the University did everything they can to provide help for students that want to go back home and visit during break but also making sure they do it in a safe way. This goes to show how it is to live during a pandemic were it's a big deal that we are provided with free testing.