Items

• 2020

  Finding Time

  Over the last five or so years, I've been dreaming about some event that would stir up some excitement in New York City, preferably some good event, but an event nonetheless. Never did I dream that it would actually come true, unfortunately in the form of a worldwide pandemic. Why couldn't it be something more fun, like aliens (although it seems like we might be getting there)? While the pandemic didn't bring anything exciting per se, it brought some change with it. When it began to be taken more seriously last year (2020), when all the shutdowns began to occur, I saw a major change in my day to day life. From being laid off of work, not being able to go to classes in-person anymore, and not being able to see any friends in person either, the normal, repetitive life that I had gotten so used to had disintegrated within just a couple weeks, if not shorter. It forced me to look at things in a different light, and as I was forced to be by myself for most of it, as we all were, I felt as if I needed to find some positivity and motivation in the few things I could do and had control over. I finally had time to focus on myself and made sure things like my physical/mental health and education were a priority. I took up cycling, as it was one way for me to be active and remain safe because it's not really something you need to do with others, and that opened the world up to me, especially with how empty the city was. Even my quiet pocket of Queens got quieter as barely anyone was outside, so while it did feel a bit post-apocalyptic out sometimes, it also gave me a sense of peace and freedom. Also, with having so much more time at home and not having to commute, I took advantage of online-learning to really give myself as much time as I needed, instead of the previous sense of rush and urgency I used to feel when it came to assignments, and actually turned my grades around pretty drastically. While the pandemic has been horrific on most fronts, by working my hardest to make the best of it, I've been able to better myself as it's given me time to enact real self-care. Something I've never taken the time to do before.
• 
  2021-09-30

  COVID-19: A new personal struggle

  My experience has changed overall with this pandemic. In my paper I discussed the different aspects of how my life changed given the circumstances with work, school, and personal lifestyle.
• 2020-03-16

  My life with COVID

  The COVID pandemic has affected everyone around the world. Going into march of 2020, I had a lot of pressure put on me by my parents to either quit my job, or take time off because they didn't know how serious the virus was and wanted me to take no chances. I also have an autistic brother who cannot speak so I didn't want to risk giving COVID to him. At the time, nobody knew how severe the virus was, but as time passed I witnessed first hand how serious it was. When I got back to work after taking time off, I saw what I thought was a joke. Shelves of foods completely empty, and all toilet paper sold out as well other cleaning products. This went on for about a month before people stopped buying a lot of things in fear. There would be lines outside of my job because too many people were coming and we didn't want to have a lot of people gathered in one place for safety reasons. More time passed and things sort of went back to normal but people now wore masks and practiced social distancing. Now over a year later, things are more calm and people are finally doing the right thing and wearing masks to prevent the spread of the virus and end this pandemic.
• 2021-07-12

  Working during the Covid-19 Pandemic

  I took a summer job in this pandemic working at a summer camp with young children. At first, I was skeptical because of the times we’re living in, and because kids just have poor habits that can cause the COVID-19 virus or any bacteria to spread. But then I just did it because it beats staying at home all day. There were many safety precautions and guidelines that took place to keep everyone safe and healthy. Any sick kids or staff were sent home and couldn’t come back until they were better. In addition, we had to check our temperatures every day, the staff had to fill out daily health surveys before arrival, we always had to have our masks on, disinfect each classroom after we use it, and wash our hands frequently. We went by a schedule, so there wouldn't be any confusion or unnecessary crowds. In terms of safety, the summer camp did a good job keeping everyone protected from the COVID-19 virus or any other sickness. Overall, the experience was different than the regular summer camp because we couldn’t do as much. But we made the best of it for both the staff and children.
• 2020-05-01

  The start of a pandemic that shock the medical field to its core

  I have worked as a NYC paramedic for several years before the pandemic Covid-19 hit the world. As a paramedic, we were trained to deal with most situations that would happen on an emergency basis. We dealt with any situation as simple as a cut on the arm, to as complex as running a mega code on a cardiac arrest patient. When Covid-19 hit NYC, I was unaware of how bad it was going to get. At first, we thought it was a virus that was weaker than influenza, which is something we deal with on a regular basis. At this time, we would get one call a day that was related to Covid-19. I thought that everyone was over exaggerating. Over time, Covid-19 patients became more frequent, and in the matter of a month, it was the only type of call we would get. It was as if every other medical problem that people had went away. But this was because everyone that wasn't infected with Covid-19 was too afraid to go to the hospital. In the month of May 2020, things started to take a turn for the worst. People were starting to get critical on each call, where my partner and I would need to resort to extreme measures like endotracheal Intubation to help them breath. Sometimes, even intubation wouldn’t be enough, and the patient would go into cardiac arrest from the lack of oxygen in the body. It was a very difficult time for me because I felt powerless to stop people from dying to his terrible disease. In June 2020, it got so bad that the hospitals did not have capacity to accept anymore patients that came in. People were put in hallways, next to nursing stations, and hospitals had to dedicate entire floors to Covid-19 patients as they came in. Then another problem started to rear its head. My Co-workers and friends started to get sick. Those of us with families had to also make a choice, either quit their job to protect their families or live apart from them until this was all over. We did not have enough EMT’s and Paramedics to staff the ambulances we had running on any given day. Those of us who were not sick picked up anywhere from 60-90 hours a week. This struggle continues now as well. All over the world, there are not enough emergency services personal to cope with the amount of call volume that we are given each day. Over time we got adjusted to the madness and medicine advanced enough to be able to treat patients so that most did not become critical. Also, the vaccine was made available to the public and things started to get better. I shared my story to show a side of the pandemic most don’t get to experience. It shows how unprepared we were, and how we were able to prevail overtime. I will also include a video to show some insight on the pandemic that was taken with one of the companies I work with.
• 2020-02-05

  Dancing through the Pandemic

  I have never experienced a pandemic like COVID-19, most of us have not. When we were told to stay home, quarantine and social distance life just became static. I moved into somewhat of a virtual reality, taking online classes and working from home. However, being home everyday without any socializing or going to the gym became really depressing and I had a hard time focusing on my work. One day my sister and I were sitting on the couch, over with pandemic life and she says "let's have a dance party". We blasted music throughout our apartment for hours and just danced all the pressure and stress out. We did this at least 3 times a week for months during the most difficult times of the pandemic. It became something we looked forward to. It was the best decision we have ever made. Not only could we destress but we had the time of our lives and it brought us closer as a family.
• 
  2020-10

  A Journal of a Plague Year

  The object I am uploading shows us how fashion is also impacted by Covid, it is really interesting.
• 
  2021-08-22

  What COVID-19 Meant for My Mother: A Latina Small-Business Owner’s Experience in the Bronx.

  The item I am submitting is a pandemic auto-ethnography detailing the disproportionately negative impact of COVID-19 on Latinx businesses. I do so through the narrative of my own family's experience, specifically my mother, as well as supporting academic research of general demographic trends. This piece speaks to how the pandemic, while in and of itself does not discriminate, has proportions of its impact that demonstrate a systemic bias leaving certain racial and ethnic groups less protected and far more targeted than others. The piece also connects how these discrepancies are not products of the pandemic, but rather were already systemically there and exacerbated by the pandemic.
• 
  2021-07-15

  Dr. Marissa Rhodes, Oral History, July 15, 2021

  Curator for the JOPTY program, Angelica S Ramos interviews mother of three, Dr. Marissa Rhodes. In this interview she discusses her role as a professor and how COVID-19 halted all the plans she had for her classes. She also discusses her pregnancy with her third baby and the struggles that came with prenatal care and birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Rhodes also relates her birthing experience and how different the pandemic made it from her first two pregnancies; she discusses the complications that she faced and the stresses she dealt with. Dr. Rhodes also discusses how her social life was impacted and the struggle to find a balance between work, children, virtual-learning and a new baby. Lastly, she reflects on her personal silver lining and the lessons that she hopes will be learned from this experience.
• 
  2021-07-02

  No kids in the hallways

  I work as a director of a Boys & Girls Club in Cleveland, Tennessee. For anyone unfamiliar with the Boys & Girls Club, we are a Department of Education-certified after-school and summer program. Our organization is comprised of fourteen Clubs across four counties and, prior to COVID-19, we served over 1,000 Club members every day. Immediately following the outbreak of COVID-19, the hallways of our Clubs were empty. In a matter of hours, an invaluable local resource became inaccessible to hundreds of families who depended on our support. This was an extremely difficult time. Fortunately, our organization has an exceptional leadership team. From the moment our doors closed in March 2020, our administration began working around the clock to adapt our program into one that was both virtual and accessible. Clubs began having daily ZOOM calls with their members, calling families to just check in, making silly YouTube videos and connecting with teen members on safe and secure social media platforms. Even further, our administration ensured that no one was laid off and employees still had plenty of work to do. With our hallways emptied, we were divided into small teams that could easily work in a socially-distanced manner and were assigned to a number of facility maintenance projects. We knew that one day our Club members would return, and when they did, we wanted their Clubs to be fresh, clean, and updated. I was assigned to the floors team. This team was charged with stripping and waxing all of the floors in each of the fourteen Clubs. For about eight weeks straight, I became overly familiar with the burning, sterile scent of Zep Heavy Duty Floor Products. Even with an industrial mask, the sharp and bitter aroma of the cleaner was pungent. Now, anytime the floors need to be done in my own building, I am taken back to those 14 weeks there were no kids in the hallways. Fortunately, we re-opened our doors to our Club members on June 1st, 2020 with strict health and safety protocols, and only at half capacity. We remained at half capacity until June 1st, 2021 when we were finally able to fully re-open our sites. Our numbers have still not returned to what they were, but we are slowly getting there. The important thing to us is that we are able to safely provide much-needed services to our community.
• 
  2021-05-08

  US dog shelters struggle with returns after pandemic adoption boom - BBC News

  This story from the BBC talks about how many dogs adopted during the pandemic are being returned to shelters once life returns to normal. Some adopters did not think ahead or understand all the implications of pet ownership. This is a traumatic experience for these poor animals. Also fewer dogs were neutered/spayed during the pandemic, so there is an uptick in the number of puppies needing homes.
• 
  2020-09-12

  Coronavirus and pets: How the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an increase in pet adoption

  This video talks about the shortage of available dogs for adoption in the United States during the pandemic. It describes the huge demand in the North East, California, etc. but packed shelters in the South. This is a trend that started long before the pandemic. Southern shelters are shipping dogs to shelters in the North for adoption. Millenials and Gen Z people want more pets and are willing to spend more money on their pets. This trend is expected to continue after the pandemic as more people negotiate with their employers to have non-traditional or hybrid work models.
• 
  2021-05-13

  Pandemic Pets Return to Shelters

  Sadly, as the nation returns to work and activities, pets adopted during the pandemic are paying the price. According to the article, owner surrenders are up more than 80% from this time last year. People did not think far enough ahead about what would happen once the pandemic was over. Now its the poor animals who have to pay the price. When will people learn that animals are not toys to be thrown away when it becomes inconvenient?
• 
  2021-03-26

  Choosing between Work and Health

  This short piece shares the struggles and experiences of choosing between working as an essential worker and worrying about my family's health during the peak of the pandemic.
• 
  2021-04-21

  James Rayroux's JOTPY Portfolio

  --Reflections on the Pandemic Archive-- Looking back over my experience with the “Journal of the Plague Year” COVID-19 archive, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. This opportunity granted me experience that few historians earn, and the remote, asynchronous work schedule allowed me to collaborate with my colleagues in ways that maximized our respective contributions. The breadth and depth of our individual experiences and perspectives tremendously improved our collective process and products. I spent enough time in the Arizona State Archives last year to recognize such collections as historical treasure chests, but I have now participated in processing an archive’s content and navigating the ethical dilemmas those submissions sometimes create. Archivists and curators are the history profession’s truly unsung heroes, and their work facilitates society’s perception of itself. My background in police work and public safety drew me to the archive’s existing Law Enforcement collection. In taking on that subset, I succeeded in reshaping the collection’s parameters to now include stories about police and law enforcement. I wanted to diversify the collection to encompass perspective of both the police and the public with whom they interact and serve. While some overlap exists between the Law Enforcement and Social Justice collections, each remains distinct. Through my contacts and writing, I promoted a Call for Submissions to an international audience of law enforcement professionals to reduce their relative silence within the archive. Within the archive’s content, I recognized that one’s location might shape their pandemic experience, and I created and designed an Arizona-based exhibit to explore that. Further research and discussion with my mentors and colleagues ensured the exhibit illustrated these differences without excluding visitors whose diverse experiences could further enrich the archived and exhibited content. I am proud of my “Arizona’s COVID-19 Pandemics” exhibit, particularly because of its compressed, one-month incubation period. Beyond displaying images, data, and stories representative of the diverse pandemic experiences within the state, the ACP exhibit offers visitors numerous levels of interaction and engagement to became active participants and create their own exhibit experience. Visitors can complete opinion surveys, add a story to the archive, explore additional content related to the displayed pieces, view ever-changing results from pre-defined archival content searches, conduct their own archival search, view collective visitor survey results, and apply to join the staff. The exhibit’s searches will include the archive’s future submissions, which reshapes both the exhibit and the experience visitors may have with it. A more detailed explanation of my ACP exhibit may be reviewed here: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/43037 Because of Dr. Kathleen Kole de Peralta and Dr. Mark Tebeau, I stand prepared to join research, curation, and exhibition teams and immediately contribute to their work products. Despite my gratitude for this experience and the opportunities it presented, I look forward to the day COVID-19 is no longer part of humanity’s daily vernacular. James Rayroux 22 April 2021
• 
  2021-03-04

  Women and the Pandemic

  "These mothers wanted to care for their kids and keep their jobs. Now they're suing after being fired. This story is part of TIME's Women and the Pandemic issue. COVID-19 has made it impossible to deny the ways broken systems hurt women. TIME spoke with women who have found the strength to work toward a better future. Read the full cover story at the link in bio. Photograph by Mary Beth Koeth (@mbkoeth) for TIME.
• 
  2021-02-21

  Mini Oral History with June Massengill, 02/21/2021

  This is a recording I did my great aunt, June. It asks the question regarding whether or not there are any silver linings in the pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-24

  Covid-19 affected my life on eating habit, sleeping habits, and emotional wellness

  When the pandemic started, it affected my life. Before the pandemic, I attend class on campus from Monday through Friday. I will have to wake up super early around 7 am or 8 am to get ready for class. After class ends, I will rush to my part-time job and begin working. This is what I do every day and I feel like this is what life is supposed to be like. After the pandemic started, I needed to stay home and attend an online course. When attending online courses, it gives me the anxiety of worrying whether I will pass the course or not. It is my first time attending the course online and I’m scared that I might not catch up with my education. I lost my part-time jobs and my parents stopped working due to the pandemic. I started to worry about the family income and planning to get a job. However, it is hard to find jobs during the pandemic and it is too risky for going outside. I started home every day and felt bored to the point I felt emotional numbness. My eating habits and sleeping habits change. I sleep almost the whole day at home and it causes some aches in my head. I often feel like I am lacking energy and easily tire. I also lack the motivation to do anything and think that the world is boring. I sometimes skip breakfast and lunch when I wake up at 4 pm when I sleep too much. These eating habits and sleeping habits are bad for my body. I decided to change a little to fix my health and I will start from sleeping and eating first. I feel like I need to find a goal or something to do in life to keep my motivation.
• 2020-03-13

  The Covid 19 College Experience : Procrastinators version

  My experience with Covid has been positive health wise. Mentally I feel the need to interact with my peers because that is what I enjoy doing in my free time other than sleeping. I thought I would be building memorable college relationships, talking to lifelong friends but it seems impossible and that saddens me. This pandemic has showed my how financially irresponsible I am! I have spent so much money on nonsense and now that I realized that, I see all the life altering things I could have done with it, but let's not focus on the negative. It isn't to late for change so all those things can still be achieved.
• 
  2021-01-19

  My Residential Work Station

  This image of my work station is important to me because I often spend most of my day there, whether it be for doing homework or just watching YouTube. I’d say that I’m at my work station about 80% of the day. What’s funny is that before quarantine I was hardly ever at my work station, but rather on my bed instead. However, ever since quarantine I’m at my work station instead of my bed now because if I’m on my bed I get unproductive and procrastinate, but if I’m at my work station I can get more work done and be more productive, even if it’s not nearly as comfortable as my bed.
• 
  2020-01-11

  Silent Bells & Quiet Halls: An Auditory Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic

  In almost every aspect of life, COVID-19 has put the world on mute. From canceled weddings and downsized gatherings to remote workspaces and quiet homes left behind by those we have lost, the overwhelming soundtrack of the pandemic is silence. When K-12 students in the United States transitioned to distance learning nearly 10 months ago, elementary, middle, and high school campuses were abandoned, leaving bells silenced and hallways quiet. From March to November, this silence came to define my work at Princeton Joint Unified School District in the rural town of Princeton, California. No longer did bells ring to mark the end of one period and the beginning of another, lockers no longer slammed shut as students rushed to gather their belongings, and students could no longer be heard gossiping, laughing, and playing during morning break. While this silence initially felt like summer vacation had merely arrived a few months early, the lack of auditory stimulation began to diminish morale and decrease productivity as work felt further removed from the students themselves, transforming human beings into pieces of data and names on a paper. I could often go an entire eight-hour shift without speaking to another person, frequently finding my voice raspy when I would pick up the phone for the first time in hours. Even among coworkers, passing conversations vanished and became simple one-line emails dealing only with the business at hand. As Zoom calls replaced in-person staff meetings and participants remained on mute, the noisy world in which I once worked fell even further away. When in-person learning became optional in November, the sound slowly began to return, but it had changed from what it once was. Growing accustomed to the silence over the long summer, I often found myself jolted in surprise at each unexpected bell or sound of students on the playground. The number of students has drastically lowered since we first closed in March, as many opt to remain home to avoid possible exposure, while lunchtimes are now staggered, and breaks are shortened to prevent spread, creating ominously quiet and often uncomfortable atmospheres. The unease and discomfort heard in students' softened voices displays that widespread uncertainty that has permeated every corner of society. It is my greatest hope that schools will return to "normal" for the 2021-2022 school year and that the sounds of carefree students once more fill the hallways and classrooms of Princeton Joint Unified School District. Silence has become an all-too-painful reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I look forward to the day that bells ring on their regular schedule, coworkers are free to converse with one another, and every student returns to campus. In images and articles documenting the pandemic, the overwhelming auditory silence that many of us are experiencing is often lost and forgotten.
• 
  2020-12-10

  Burnout: A Sociological Analysis of the 24/7 Work Mentality and Its Impact on the City That Never Sleeps

  The item we are submitting is a reflection of society at large, something imperative as we have all been forced to self-reflect on a personal scale during this pandemic. Being forced to recharge and take a breath from the tech-fueled, on-the-go, culture we are entrenched in is a psychological challenge in and of itself. Therefore, starting a conversation as to why work is seen as a means to an end rather than as a self-fulfilling contribution to society and, consequently, something that leads to burnout is a conversation worth having before we enter into a society once again that causes severe stress and anxiety for most people. This is important because we must look at not just our personal lives, but the society we live in so that we can properly address the factors leading to major decline in the mental health of so many, as well as whether or not we want to re-commit to such a society once life returns to some sense of normalcy.
• 
  2020-12-01

  At home work during the Pandemic

  Adaptation to the work enviroment
• 2020-11-25

  Working and Living in a Pandemic

  I think one of biggest impacts of COVID for me has been wondering if, or when, someone close to me will contract the virus. A fear that at times can be intense or foreboding, and at other times, that fades into feeling ‘normal.’ It was several months into the pandemic before I knew of anyone who knew someone that was ill. More recently a couple of family members had very serious cases of the illness, and a couple more that tested positive but had no symptoms. Being vigilant, following safety procedures such as masks and hand sanitizer have finally become normal as well. Early days I found myself nearly obsessed with reading the news, watching the daily press conferences, and looking up the statistics. These activities have reduced to a daily glance or two to look at numbers or read the latest about the vaccination. I worry about my family. I wonder sometimes if I feel even slightly ill or off if ‘this is it’— have I finally contracted it? And then worry about giving it to others. Another way that I have felt the impact has been in the work environment. I work remotely in the technical sector, and have for several years, so at the beginning of the pandemic there were no adjustments in my routine. However, it didn’t take long to see the impacts of the virus on my clients. Impacts that were not prepared for even with disaster recovery, risk management or continuity planning. The financial impacts businesses affected their ability to ensure employees could work from home. That their employees would have the correct equipment, connectivity, could adapt to the necessary behavioral changes that can disrupt productivity, etc. How now can we receive, prepare and ship equipment, when no one can be in an office to receive anything? The changes have especially impacted efforts to bring on new employees. One thing that I found striking was the requirements in security and access to data when moving from a secure network environment, to set up for the same security at home. A majority of my teams live in countries outside of the United States where some don’t have internet in their homes, let alone being set up to manage Personal Private Information (PPI). My clients in financial sectors have stringent background checks that can take several weeks to clear in the “old world” under normal conditions. With agencies closed and workforce reduced, it is taking two to three times longer to get simple things accomplished. The last major impact I have felt during the shift to my sector becoming a “working from home one,” was experiencing people on the other end of ZOOM, as we all had to overcome our fears about interruptions. Children crying, wanting attention because they don’t understand why mom and dad are home but can’t pay attention to them. Dogs barking, doorbells ringing, calls dropping. It took several months to work out many of the kinks, and for everyone to adjust to these interruptions, but being OK with them. Overall, I would say that I am not directly impacted too much for the moment. Most of the adjustments that have been made and are now normal feeling. Things are finally feeling like they are back to business as usual, I suppose. On a personal level, my fears rise and wain, and each day is different. I am leery of vaccinations, and wonder if the “wonder cure” we’ve been promised will be miraculous, or if more difficulties will follow? The verdict is not out on that yet, so we will have to wait and see what our next ”new normal” will really look like.
• 
  2020-11-14

  Tatiana's Work Enviroment

  Tatiana works at Davita Dialysis in the Miami, Florida area. Her work experience has been immeasurably altered due to Covid-19. Walking in to work everyday feels very different for her with all of the warnings and no visitations allowed.
• 
  2020-09-15

  Jewish Melbourne: Jewish Care blog post - 'what can be done if you're unemployed during coronavirus'

  An article by Simon Jedwab, Program Manager - Employment Centre, providing advice and support for people who are unemployed during the pandemic
• 
  2020-11-16

  Interview with Active Air Force Reservist during COVID-19

  This is a audio interview with a active Air Force Reservist, describing how the Covid pandemic has impacted his work environment and personal livelihood.
• 
  2020-10-03

  Jennifer Martin Oral History, October 3, 2020

  Graduate student at ASU, Angelica S Ramos interviews mother of four, Jennifer Martin of Kentucky, to get her first-hand experience of being a working mom during COVID. In this interview, they discuss the hardships of motherhood, how the routine of the household has changed and the hardships Jennifer has encountered. Jennifer also expresses excitement for moving out of the suburbs and into a farm, a decision which was made during COVID.
• 
  2020-11-11

  COVID-19 impacting seasonal work as the holidays near

  As the holidays approach, many people are looking for seasonal work. However, stores are hiring fewer or no seasonal workers because of increased online shopping due to COVID-19.
• 
  2020-11-06

  The Effects of Covid-19 on both a student and teacher

  In this video, I interview a former high school teacher of mine and I ask her questions about experiences she's had while battling this pandemic. I believe she's also attending Brooklyn College Graduate (Law) school.
• 
  2020-05-18

  Working at a bottle shop during COVID19

  Throughout the pandemic I worked in a bottle shop owned by Coles in South Melbourne. Sales increased dramatically during the pandemic for two reasons. Firstly, people were worried about Dan Andrews closing bottle shops during lockdown. Secondly, because bars and venues were closing, people had to source their own alcohol. During the interim period when people were discussing what the stage 3 and 4 lockdown would look like customers would come into the shop and ask if we were considered an ‘essential service’. I would respond with “I assume we’re considered essential,” “how would you survive without booze?” and “you’d know more than we do.” During this period of time it seemed like everyone knew a friend or an acquaintance of a friend who was in politics and sharing information about COVID lockdown meetings and what the next stage would involve. The uncertainty of not knowing if I’d be working next week was stressful and caused anxiety and it also caused me to panic buy wine (most of which was not touched). Nonetheless, we stayed open throughout all lockdowns and acquired new customers. During lockdown our sales increased on cocktail ingredients such as triple sec and campari because people started making cocktails at home. During the pandemic customers seemed to have more time to chat and browse and wanted to try new products. but this could also be because they liked the excuse to stay out of home for longer. As well, Coles gave employees who worked from March to May 2020 a one-off thank you bonus for working during the hardest weeks of the pandemic. Working during a pandemic had highs and lows, I was grateful that I didn’t live with my family, so I couldn’t bring home to virus, but it was hard juggling extra hours at work around online uni and other aspects of life. HIST30060
• 
  2020-08-03

  Pandemic and Social Justice Movement in the workplace

  This article is explaining how work environments will be changing, and for the better. The author explains how not only has the pandemic shown how flexible a work environment can be as far as working digitally and from home. The author also explains how the management of most workplaces need to be more flexible and diverse. The author also explains how we can better the work environment for social justice and lists a few ways.
• 
  2020-11-05

  A Thriving Glass Factory, Melbourne

  The glass factory is in the middle of Spotswood, a suburb close to central Melbourne. The factory produces glass containers for many products including baby food, vegemite, beer, wine, jam, and kombucha. They have been very busy this year, thanks to panic buying. One staff member stated that production had been high since March 2020, just like it was in Christmas 2019, the peak season for glass production. Glass bottles are made around Australia as they are quite difficult to transport, so they cannot be outsourced to overseas manufacturers. This facility has around 100 staff. In these images you can see some staff having a break out the front of the business. They are wearing masks in accordance with Victorian (state) laws. In the other image you can also see that the workplace is taking temperature checks to reduce the risk of virus transmission. 37°49'49.5"S 144°53'30.5"E HIST30060
• 
  2020-09-11

  How cautious is too cautious?

  In my household at least, temperature checks have become part of our regular routine, especially since two of us have been 'permitted workers' throughout the year and therefore still come into regular contact with the public. At this point Victoria was in it's second wave of the pandemic, we'd just been through winter and were into hay fever season: all of this made it very hard to tell when to get a test. In this case I had taken my temperature a couple of hours before work and had to decide if this borderline temperature was enough make me call in sick on such short notice. The government had announced a payment system for people who feared missing work to get tested due to the financial impact, but for me the problem has been managing managers expectations and creating difficulties for my workplace. I did get a test from a pop-up site at a local pool and I got a text message with the negative results in less than 24 hours.
• 
  2020-10-30

  Follow the Yellow Brick Road

  “Do you sell hand sanitizer?” asks nearly every customer that enters the door into the store that I work at. If I’m not busy, I’m usually kind enough to walk them down to the aisle they’re in (Aisle 12, Cleaning and Breakroom!), however, if I can’t take the time to, I tell them to follow the stickers we have on the floor that leads to that section. Sort of like the yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz led Dorothy and her gang to the Emerald City. Many stores nowadays have social distancing and directional stickers for aisles, but this is the only place that I have seen these types of stickers. This is something that I have come to associate with life during the pandemic; now learning to work during this.
• 
  2020-10-14

  COVID Closure Collections Reward

  Award given to me and my supervisor from the manager of the Museum of the Everglades that recognizes our effort entering 6,000 items into our collections system while we were working from home. While the museum shut down in-office operations the collections team (my supervisor and me) were able to utilize our time at home skillfully to enter 6,000 records. This item memorializes the hard-work our collections staff puts in every day, even amid a frightening pandemic.
• 
  2020-05-16

  A Starbucks re-opens after shelter in place

  After a month and a half of paid stay at home time, a Starbucks in Junction City re-opens. The top image shows text, “Our store is temporarily closed” and the description reads “We’re here reopening the store. Come see us this Monday for your favorite Starbucks beverage. Store hours: 6am-4p.” The bottom image shows a group of baristas, wearing masks, back at work. The words pandemic, or covid-19 are nowhere to be found, trying to project a sense of normalcy.
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  2020-06-15

  Ph.D. exams in quarantine

  My family stayed mostly at home through July. I began my Ph.D. exams in June and finished them at the beginning of July. I had to work in the office of our apartment complex, because I couldn't concentrate in our apartment with two kids. When the cases began to rise in July in Arizona, the governor closed bars, gyms, and water parks. As a result my complex closed the offices, and I had to scramble to find another place to work. Thankfully our professors decided to give us 2 weeks (instead of 1) to answer each question, and I passed with high scores.
• 
  2020-10-16

  Selling Coffee during the Plague Year

  A journal of a Starbucks employee working during the pandemic. Describes the ways in which the company provided in ways adequate and not. Six weeks of paid stay-at-home that spiraled into depression, and the mounting stress from working with the public, and the pressure to open space for customers to stay in store.
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  2020-09-15

  ASU COVID-19 Interview Image

  This picture is of me taken after an EOSS Social Roundup interview about my experience with school, work, and life during the COVID- 19 pandemic. This picture was also uploaded to the Arizona State University Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation Instagram page (asunursingandhealth) and scholarship page. This interview will be incorporated to a video that will be shown to incoming first year students. The goal of this project was to clarify any questions that any future students may have and provide comfort to them through the firsthand experiences of multiple students at Arizona State University. Students were taken to various parts of the Downtown Phoenix Arizona State University campus and were asked questions pertaining to their involvement in campus, class, and how they incorporated safety measures while attending on campus. Personally, I was able to give detailed responses about how professors handled in- person classes and what measures they took to keep their physical students safe. I was also able to share my work experience at the university during this pandemic. I work at the university residential hall and Sun Devil Fitness and Wellness Complex. I was able to give a detailed description of how we, at my student jobs, have taken various measures to keep a safe and sanitary environment to keep our residents and patrons safe through this pandemic. My interview was also able to give an insight of living on campus during this academic year. I was able to answer questions about precautions that has been taken by university housing to keep their residents safe from this virus and reduce the potential spread. Overall, I hope that my insight given in this interview will put future incoming students at ease or encourage them to come to campus. All of this is to show the students that we are taking various safety measures to keep them at low risk and show them that they are in our best interest.
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  2020-03-16

  Nightmare

  Covid 19 has been nothing but the worst ever since it started. The only tiny silver line i found is i was able to rest and heal my body from constantly working out and going to work. But then the situation for work changed as the schedule began to put in more hours for me and although i enjoyed learning new tasks for the job, having nothing but to do those new tasks for months was dreadful. Covid made a big impact on my relationship because it made me dependent and I constantly was on facetime with my girlfriend and now i have separation anxiety where i normal dont. I feel socially awkward as well since i barely was already going out to pretty much nothing at all. I hope i can get my own life back on track and hopefully everything returns to normal.
• 
  2020-09-29

  Just a regular day

  My experience with the pandemic isn't one that drastically changed my life. I work at a gas station and I live in a rural town with the majority of the people being Republican. Which I know you must be thinking what does this have to do with it, well it actually has a lot to do! Majority of the people believe that this is all a hoax and do not believe in wearing a mask. Our customers who come into the store act as if Covid-19 isn't happening. I very rarely have someone who takes Covid-19 seriously, one customer that made me realize that times have change when he literally pulled out a disinfectant spray and then proceeded to spray the pinned before entering his pin. I have to admit even I thought he is exaggerating a bit by spraying the pin pad even when he is clearly wearing gloves. At my job my bosses did not really take Covid-19 seriously since they did not ask us if we wanted to wear mask, gloves, or even put the 6 feet markers on the floor so people would not crowd on top of each other. In fact most people out here in my rural community make comments saying "Are you really wearing mask", "You do know that is not going to protect you from anything" and my favorite one of all is "this is all a hoax, it will all calm down when the elections are over". All in all my town and I were not heavily affected or restricted with Covid-19. Although some places may have the mandatory mask requirements most people either avoided those places or just complained about how unnecessary it is to wear a mask. work, behind the scene *Photography and I found it at my job.
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  2020-03-10

  Living in the middle of a global pandemic

  My experience about the pandemic is that it was not easy. I am an essential worker. I work as a cashier at Whole Foods Market and a full time student so since the pandemic has started, we have taken precautionary steps moving forward at both work and school. School has been a little bit tougher because I have to maintain more discipline in getting my assignments done on time and I don't have the resources that I used to have such as being able to go to the library when I cannot focus at home.
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  2020-04-01

  Surviving the Front-Line of Covid-19

  This story is about my experience working in a NYC hospital - being on the front-line as the pandemic hits NYC. It is important for me to tell, so that everyone is aware of how unprepared we were. Had we prepared, we could have saved lives.
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  2020-09-26

  The causes of COVID-19

  The COVID-19 pandemic was something I definitely did not expect. It was a shock to not only me, but also to everyone in this world. This pandemic completely shifted my life into something entirely different from what I’m used too. Pre-COVID-19, I did not have to think about leaving my house with a mask on. Now, while we are still in the pandemic, leaving the house with a mask on is part of my everyday essentials. Wearing a mask is currently part of my wardrobe. I bought reusable masks because they are not good for the environment. Global warming is a very big issue that many people do not believe in, but I do believe in. I try my best to help the environment as much as I can, so buying reusable masks is what I did. Also, those medical masks are so expensive now, it is something I cannot afford to keep buying. While on the topic of expensive, I was someone who always carried hand sanitizer with me wherever I went. Now that hand sanitizer is a necessity due to the virus, it was hard for me to find them in stores, and when I did find them, the cost was two times higher than it originally would be. Money became an issue for me due to the change of price in many things. I did not work during the start of the pandemic because I was scared to put my families lives at risk. I work now, but I practice social distancing as much as I can, I sanitize, and I wear a face mask at all times. The hardest part about being in quarantine would be remote learning, and it still is. I was someone who despised online classes. I always avoided taking them. However, due to the pandemic, I had no other choice but to take online classes. I appreciate the effort my professors put into trying to make everything work, but it will never be the same as being in class physically and learning. Taking online classes is so stressful because I am basically teaching myself. Depending on the professor, somethings are just not clearly explained so I am left confused very often. Trying to manage everything in my personal life on top of online classes is not easy. Working academically in the comfort of my own home, with my family was and still is a struggle. I need to be in a different environment other than my own home in order for me to fully concentrate and study for my classes. Another constant issue with remote learning is my horrible WIFI connection. My WIFI has been a mess since quarantine started. Having bad WIFI added on to more stress for my online classes because I needed the internet to finish my work and pass my classes. Nonetheless, the CDC is trying their best to stop the spread of COVID-19. This pandemic has caused a major shift to the world, especially mine. The best thing I can do is to continue to work hard and do the best that I can. We have been in a pandemic for 7 months now. Unfortunately, this is our new normal.
• 
  2020

  The Year(s) of COVID

  I did not expect 2020 to turn out this way, I had a year of travels planned and a summer of adventures. I remember telling patients at the pharmacy I work at that things will be fine, we just need to a little cautious but I was wrong, it seemed almost routine that we started getting phone calls informing us a patient passed away. Scrolling through any platform, I would come across a familiar face that is now gone. It became numbing when I found myself rubbing my skin raw in the shower after working 10 hour shifts, the mask tan was humorous at first now it is a little saddening this is the reality. I remember watching the news in April with my family and going "wow only 700 people died today" and wondered if that was the new reality. Sometimes all of this feels so surreal, is it really happening? I want to remain optimistic but it seems almost impossible when things never seem to get any better. This is our new normal, life before COVID will never return.
• 
  2020

  In this Together

  Its a bit of my experience of a day in the life living in the times of covid-19
• 
  2020-04

  A Year I Will Never Forget

  2020 started off a great year for me, I was so excited to turn 21 and envisioned this amazing year where I would travel, meet new people, etc. However quickly that dream ended, working in a pharmacy I was always on edge about the virus especially when the cases were spiking which caused this worry inside my family and I. I worried about my two immunocompromised parents mostly, what would happen to them if they got sick? Would I be the reason they did so? Would I bring home something from the pharmacy? Fortunately my family is safe and healthy but I wasn't, what I assumed was just a cold turned out to be one of the worst experiences of my life. I couldn't believe I had COVID-19, I was taking all precautions and yet it was inevitable thought I will never forget this birthday; celebrating turning 21 with COVID and eating ice cream cake in my pajamas. I was grateful I ended up recovering but it was devastating when I would hear almost weekly someone I knew had passed away whether it be a friend, patient, a familiar face. Sometimes I can't wrap my head around all of this happening, we have been in quarantine for over six months and it seems like there will be no end to this either. I want to remain optimistic and look forward to things but it so hard to when everything seems almost draining. The small things that once brought us to ease seems to be so far away now.
• 
  2020-06-01

  The Decision and the Opportunity

  Months had gone by during the Covid 19 pandemic and for college students like myself, it began to take a toll on me mentally. It wasn't easy to say the least to stay at home and start remote learning. It was even harder being a journalism major and having to cover what was routine press conferences about death and despair ravaging New York City. But as the semester came to an end , frustration began to mount for me as there seemed to be no end to this nightmare. I grew tired of being at home day after day with no option but to stay inside. I saw many of my peers take advantage of the time being in lockdown to make some extra money. That was motivation enough to get against my parents wishes in hopes to get ahead when all this was over. The job was simple -- make grocery deliveries to apartments in the lower east side. The streets were completely empty , something out of a horror film where you’re the last person on earth. The only problem was , my mom was an essential worker and she saw first hand what covid did to people and their loved ones around them. Also my brother being a diabetic meant he was more susceptible to covid which I was putting all that risk knowing I would be out there in the city and unknowingly bringing back covid into my house. It finally came time to tell my family the plan I had and they were not happy to say the least. My mom was furious of the thought that I would go ahead and get a job during a pandemic -- And although he didn't show it , I knew my brother shared the same feelings. But I didn’t let it stop me and the next day , I went to work. On my way there , It was rough seeing the city in the shape that it was. People wearing masks with depression and stress written all over their faces , taking extra precautions every 5 minutes dousing their hands in hand sanitizer . It made me realize that although I would want to be in the best shape possible financially , I realized that my health is way more important and that I let greed control my way of thinking. I had made it to the supermarket and as I approached my supervisor , I told him that I could not put my family at risk for this and that I’m not going to be working. He understood my decision and felt that if I could not do it , then there would be no problem. As I got home , I apologized to my family for potentially putting their health at risk. This pandemic has taught me patience to say the least , there are more important things at the moment than money and sometimes things must take a backseat in order to fully flourish in the future.
• 
  2020-09-25

  Reflections on COVID-19 - A Certified Pharmacy Technicians Perspective

  A letter written by me to describe my experience with COVID-19