Items

• 
  2021-10-10

  Zoom Meeting Attire (HIST30060)

  (HIST30060) This is a photo of what I wear during Zoom meetings; a button-up top and pyjama shorts paired with moccasin slippers. Although talking about wearing pyjamas has become somewhat of a cliché during the pandemic, it does not make it any less true. When Zooming with friends and attending online university tutorials, I tend to make an effort from the waist up and opt for comfort from the waist down. I figure if wearing pyjamas all day is one of the small glimpses of joy I can get from an otherwise tough situation, then I’ll take it.
• 
  2021-08-24

  Every story matters – Burgers with the Brothers 2021

  Burgers with the Brothers is a tradition at St. Mary’s University. Once a year the students and the Marianist brothers get together to build community and enjoy some delicious burgers made by the brothers and students. For 2021 authorities made it possible after a year without it and made students and brothers able to make memories once again. The Marianist Leadership Program made also a contribution to Burgers with the Brothers. MLP is an organization of servant leaders that are willing to help wherever help is needed. As a student doing service with the Marianist Leadership Program, I am happy with how the event took place. As students, we were able to connect with the brothers and other students while using facemasks and gloves to serve the burgers, give out chips and water bottles. I am thankful to live experiences like this one because even if it is not like it used to be, it helps St. Mary’s Spirit be alive and be in continuous connection with the university. Burgers with the Brothers is a very special event for students and brothers to connect and have a little bit of fun on campus. Because it is a tradition is very important for older generations and younger generations to feel the community and experience the Marianist environment.
• 
  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  Fresh Look at the Outdated Classroom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.
• 
  2020-08-11

  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.
• 
  2021-08-02

  A complex decision: Deferring International Students

  In the Center of International Programs, during Summer 2021, some decisions had to be made in the office. Due to internal changes, some applications could not be processed, and I-20s could not be developed. Between 10 to 20 undergraduates and graduate students had to be deferred to have more time to issue their visas. This impacted students as some had already made arrangements to come and each case had to be taken into consideration and also be taken personally. The Center of International Programs has over 20 students preparing to go to the university by Spring 2022.
• 
  2021-08-09

  New Beginnings - First in-person International Student Orientation During COVID-19

  On August 9th, 45 students (approx.) came to the first international student orientation. During the session, they explained how to maintain the visa status, more information about working in the university, and health recommendations and guidelines. They were also asked to leave their documentation for the following scanning and complete some forms during the session. This session was the first one after COVID-19 appeared in the US.
• 
  2021-06-08

  Back To "Normal"

  With the distribution of the vaccine everyone thought things were going back to normal. The pandemic seemed like it was coming to a close. Institutions were beginning to lift the indoor mask-wearing requirements for vaccinated individuals per the CDC's announcement. St Mary's University was one of these of these places. Unfortunately with the rise of the Delta variant St. Mary's had to revoke their decision regarding masks a few weeks later. It was back to "normal" mask-wearing policies no matter what your vaccination status. I, like many others, was disappointed by masks being required again. Too often I had been made late by trying to find a mask to take or even running back to my house or car because I forgot mine. Or ran embarrassed out of a store because I forgot to wear one the entire time I was shopping. I also missed putting on makeup below my eyes, a ritual that helped me feel more put together. They're simple, silly reasons for not wanting to wear a mask anymore but to me they represented normalcy.
• 
  2020-03-12

  A Permanent Break

  This image shows how much almost everyone underestimated the pandemic. It also highlights the uncertainty it brought. Most thought we were just getting one extra week of staying home. We would be heading back to campus after that so we were grateful for the extra vacation time. Little did we know that there would be no end in sight for this pandemic for almost two years. No one knew how long it would last or exactly how much it would affect our everyday lives. Procedures constantly changed as institutions tried to figure out the best way to respond to this unprecedented situation. I think this image would spark student memories of the reaction they had to similar school announcements. Many people were on vacation and came home to a total shift in society like panic buying. My family was in Mexico at the time and in the middle of the vacation the hotel switched from open buffet and people roaming to encouraging people not to interact with others. Before my family left my stepdad had bought some nonperishables to store. I didn't know why he did this and thought this was silly and just a habit from his Red Cross responder days. It turns out he was correct in predicting people would flock to the stores once institutions started practicing preventive measures. This image is just one of the many that demonstrate how people's lives began to change during this time.
• 
  2021-09-09

  Looking Back to Look Forward and Adapting to Overcome

  These text stories are from St. Mary University's Rattler Newspaper. These articles relate to the pandemic and my theme because they are discussing how students are adapting from the previous year(s), whether it be dealing with changes to online vs. in-person lectures, new policies to promote safety, or anything else. This theme is important to me because I was still in high school during the start of the pandemic, so I had to go through lots of adaptations, not only because of my transition into college but also because of the ongoing pandemic. When I decided to attend St. Mary's, lots of things were still uncertain, for example, whether or not class will be held in person or virtually, mask and vaccination mandates, etc. Chloe Presley is the contributing writer, and Adrianna Mirabal is responsible for the graphics.
• 
  2021-09-09

  DUPLICATE - Looking Back to Look Forward and Adapting to Overcome

  These text stories are from St. Mary University's Rattler Newspaper. These articles relate to the pandemic and my theme because they are discussing how students are adapting from the previous year(s), whether it be dealing with changes to online vs. in-person lectures, new policies to promote safety, or anything else. This theme is important to me because I was still in high school during the start of the pandemic, so I had to go through lots of adaptations, not only because of my transition into college but also because of the ongoing pandemic. When I decided to attend St. Mary's, lots of things were still uncertain, for example, whether or not class will be held in person or virtually, mask and vaccination mandates, etc. The opinion editor is Seana Barclay and the photographer is Adrianna Mirabal.
• 
  2020-09-01

  Every story matters - Student's perspective

  Classes in Fall 2020 were either fully virtual or hybrid. In hybrid classes, the professors would have to put the projector with some students being on zoom. This was a good idea because it helped students be safe and at the same time learn. It was also challenging because sometimes professors would pay more attention to the students that were in the classroom and not the ones on zoom. I took this picture a year ago to show my parents how classes were working. This was something my parents appreciated because they saw that St. Mary’s University was using all their resources to help students continue their studies. They liked seeing me continue my college experience in a different way but not fully virtual. I saved this picture for over a year to see the changes the world was going to have during the pandemic. I am glad we are finding new solutions and making changes with still being careful with COVID-19 guidelines.
• 
  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.
• 
  2021-05-10

  HIST30060: Helping Me Study

  This is photograph shows one of my dogs, Elfie, sitting next to where I study for university during the pandemic. She and her sister, Bowie, would fall asleep next to me and keep me company. Often, they would help keep me motivated when I was struggling by hassling me back to the table. It is easy to look back over the past two years and look at the negatives, however, it is moments like the one depicted in the picture which help remind me that there were positive moments too.
• 2020-03-16

  From Unheard of to Unheard

  This excerpt outlines how the start of the pandemic affected the noise level of an undergraduate college campus.
• 
  2020-03-12

  Quarantine Life

  I am submitting a small glimpse of what life was life for me during Covid 19 and quarantine
• 
  2021-07-29

  (HIST30060) An Exhibition I Created at University

  After a year as subeditor, I was lucky enough to be appointed the 2021 editor of Chariot, the undergraduate history journal at the University of Melbourne. As an initiative to raise student engagement and make history more interesting, I worked with the university staff and one of our previous contributors of the journal in turning her essay into an exhibition in the university's Arts West building. Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, I was unable to see the exhibition in person myself, but the experience of putting it together from start to finish was a hugely rewarding one.
• 
  2021-08-23

  (HIST30060) An Exciting Job Offer

  Due to the pandemic, I had to scrap my original plans of travelling after finishing my degree and to apply for jobs instead. I have always dreamed of working in economic policy, so I applied to the graduate economist program at the Australian Treasury in Canberra, my dream job. Going through the entire recruitment process remotely was a peculiar experience, and was, in some ways, even more daunting than doing in person interviews. When I finally received an offer, I felt that I was dreaming. In some ways, the lockdown was a blessing in disguise for me, as I would not have applied for the role if it was not for the pandemic disrupting my original plans.
• 
  2021-06-23

  (HIST30060) Going Bowling with Friends

  Despite the lockdowns, there were a few brief periods throughout the year where Victorians were able to safely venture beyond a five kilometre radius of our homes. On the day I finished my semester one exams, I met up with a group of friends and together went bowling at Melbourne Central. While I received a rather embarrassingly low score, we all hugely enjoyed the feeling of being able to meet up and have fun in person to celebrate the end of exams. None of us would expect another round of lockdowns only a few weeks later, and looking back, I certainly wish I was able to cherish that night more.
• 2020-05-11

  COVID Graduation

  The day I had worked so hard for had finally come, and I sat on my couch to celebrate. Years of dedication, essays, long lectures, early morning lectures, scholarship hunting, and finals stress had all amounted to me celebrating my graduation in my pajamas. It didn't feel real. I cried for a while, and I think it was okay to cry. COVID-19 took away special things from everyone. It has taken away special loved ones, special plans, and special events/celebrations. For me and so many other college students, it took away a very special moment--the pride, sense of accomplishment, the payoff. Colleges around the country tried to imitate graduation the best they could with virtual ceremonies. Some ceremonies featured pictures and quotes from students, and most colleges provided an online commencement. I was too sad and frustrated to watch my commencement on the day of my graduation but watching it back has made me realize how much more my degree means to me.
• 2021-10-09

  Final Semester as an undergrad student

  When the pandemic started a year ago, I was a residential student at my college. The news that we had to move out of the dorms was hard since we would have to pack everything up. The second half of the semester was all virtual with zoom meetings and not having that in person experience for the classes. Having to do that means not being able to see the friends that we have made on campus daily or being able to have study sessions together in small groups.
• 
  2020-08-16

  Dorm Life During A Pandemic

  Last year in the fall of 2020, while the pandemic was still raging on, I began my first year of college at Arizona State University. Like every college freshman, I was ecstatic and beyond ready for this next chapter in my life, even with COVID-19 taking control of the world. I was ready for new friends, fun experiences, and making connections. I kept this positive attitude even when we found out all classes had been moved to online, and all freshmen welcome events had been canceled. I told myself I would make the best of the situation, and considering I was living in the dorms, I would still feel a part of a community, make new friends, and have somewhat of a college experience. I was incredibly wrong. When I arrived at the dorms, it was brought to my attention that the dining halls were not to be used as a recreational area, and we had to take our food right back up to our dorm after getting it. There was a strict no guest policy. Campus was a ghost town. I ate, slept, and did school all from my small twin sized bed. All day, everyday. My roommate and I felt like our dorm had almost become a prison, and this started to seriously affect my mental health and general well being. Students were moving out of the dorms by the hundreds due to all the reasons I listed above, so the already empty and quiet hallways became emptier and quieter. The photo attached is one of myself the day I moved in, taken by my mom. I had no idea at the time how miserable I would become being completely isolated at one of the biggest universities in the country. If I had not joined greek life, my only friend from my freshman year would have been my roommate. Eventually, I was able to move out of the dorms to an apartment, and I immediately saw a change for the better within my life. Now, with life slowly returning back to normal, it is odd to think about how different life was just one year ago. I will never again take for granted the simple pleasures of sitting in a dining hall with my friends, or walking to class with hundreds of other students.
• 2020-06-09

  college life in COVID

  this image is from friends I have made during my dark times during COVID 19, it was hard to make friends as a freshmen when classes were held on zoom. this took a toll on me and my personal life was going dark, it seemed that everyday that passes was just like the day before, no change. it made me contemplate how life is really worthless, you get up to everyday to do your required tasks and then get back to sleep just to get up again the next day and rinse repeat. I started going to a religious place to get help, and found people to hang out with. which ultimately helped me get back to normal life. I still feel as if life is worthless to most of us, as we do almost the same thing everyday and are expected to entertain each other. and while that may seem grim and dark, its the reality of life. to think of life in this manner is not harmful fore say as it helps you take bigger strides and risks in life, which may not be taken when life is thought of as a precious gift from god. and while life is a precious gift from god, realizing that taking strides which may negatively impact your life can also improve your life, which will help you get in a better spiritual and emotional state of mind. so while I played Basketball and enjoyed my time, I knew that my life was gonna get significantly better because this life barrier I placed upon myself was not gonna hold me back. and that was going to improve my spiritual and emotional state of mind
• 
  2020-03-19

  Life during Pandemic

  Life during pandemic has been crazy. From schools getting shutdown mid semester to half of the population in the world getting laid off from their job. The pandemic for me started when the schools got shutdown mid semester. University's and colleges went online during pandemic but high schools got shut down till the end of the year. I was a high school senior when the pandemic started. I was really happy at first to get a couple of days off from school, but the couple days turned into weeks and eventually in months. This would have been my high school graduation, the moment I had been waiting for years. But because of pandemic, almost no one from class of 2020 get to celebrate their graduation, the way they wanted. A couple of months after graduation, i went to start university. But it was not the university experience I imagined for myself. ASU went all online with zoom classes from home. I tried getting involved to see if that can make a difference in my college experience, but the involvements were also all online. One thing I learned during this whole pandemic was how important in person learning was. I did hear a lot of people complaining about not learning anything though zoom, but It actually happened to me. I had to use twice as much time going over lectures and quizzes than I would usually do. Because I would get distracted easily. On the other hand, during pandemic I also had a part time retail job. Even though half of the population in the U.S got laid off from their job, I actually worked double the shift during pandemic than I would normally work. I started working full time since the pandemic started till last month august, when the classes started in person. I did get to save tons of money to buy a car for myself. Thankfully during pandemic, no one from my family got covid-19, and we were all really safe. Overall, the pandemic was a crazy yet really wonderful experience for me because I not only learned importance of small things in our lives but also learned to always stay in touch with our family member and friends because you never know what will happen next.
• 2020

  Computer Problems

  Over the course of the pandemic, everything went online. One of the major problems I faced was with technical capability- my computer was an older laptop, meant for doing assignments but not much else. Having to run Zoom, project applications, and other online requirements fried my laptop. It also made me think- How were underprivileged students doing work? I was lucky to even have a computer, and I mostly relied on the desktops at my university in the library before the pandemic started. Now I have a new laptop, but I know most people aren't so fortunate.
• 
  2020-08-27

  Playing D1 Athletics during the Covid Pandemic

  I am on the women’s soccer team at Arizona State University, and the world’s way of handling sports during the pandemic was ever changing and interesting to say the least. This photograph depicts me playing soccer outside while fully masked. At the start of the pandemic, all sports were put on a complete hold and all athletes were sent home. The next progression was that we were able to return to campus, however we must practice fully masked and maintain no contact with other athletes. As you can imagine, running sprints in August in Arizona was no easy feat, but nobody complained and everyone was just happy to get back on the field. Within a couple of months, we were able to resume contact, remove masks, and play against other schools as long as weekly testing was enforced. As the year has progressed and vaccinations have become readily available, the restrictions for vaccinated individuals have been almost completely lifted and testing is no longer required. This pandemic has completely changed my outlook on sports and life in general. It is so easy to dread the early morning practices, the hard team workouts or count down the days until your next off day. However, once those things are completely taken away from you, you truly realize how lucky you are to even be on the field in the first place. This pandemic, in all that it has taken from us, has given me a sense of appreciation for all the little things that I used to dread. I find myself being much more optimistic in the hard moments than I was before, and I have been able to be much more grateful for the opportunities that I have been given. I truly do think that this lesson will carry over into my life beyond athletics, and that I will have a different outlook on seemingly dreadful tasks. You never know when a global pandemic could suddenly put your life on hold.
• 
  2020-05-01

  Antibody Testing at the University of Arizona

  The University of Arizona offered antibody testing in April and May 2020 to a limited number of community members. The goal was to get a better idea of how many people had already been infected with COVID without realizing it. I signed up for the test which was located at the new Arizona football practice field. This was my first time venturing out of the house since everything shut down and it was a surreal experience, being on campus but not seeing anyone walking around. The university is usually full of people with lots of energy. It was also uncomfortable being around people in the testing site because I had avoided being around anyone other than my immediate family since March.
• 
  2021-08-19

  UArizona Football Team 100% Vaccinated

  The University of Arizona football achieved 100% vaccination rate at the beginning of the 2021 season, the highest in the Pac-12. TEXT OF NEWS ARTICLE: The Arizona football program is 100% vaccinated against COVID-19, the team announced Thursday. The rate includes players, coaches and other staffers. First-year coach Jedd Fisch had made that a goal, and the team has achieved it. The UA is believed to be the only team in the Pac-12 to have reached 100%, with UCLA in second place at 98%. During Arizona's media day earlier this month, Fisch revealed 115 of the Wildcats' 118 players were vaccinated — a 97.4% rate and a five-player improvement from the team's mark in July. Other teams in the Pac-12 that are above the 90% threshold include Washington, Colorado, Utah, USC and Oregon. Oregon State (88%), Stanford (85%) and Washington State (80%) are behind the other Pac-12 programs, while Arizona State and Cal haven't disclosed their vaccination rates. Ole Miss is another college football program with all of its personnel 100% vaccinated. “We are proud to say our football program is 100% vaccinated,” the program posted via Twitter. “Our players, our staff and all who are affiliated with our program have worked very hard to accomplish this goal. “We take our health very seriously, and we are committed to a 12-game season and beyond. We are also committed to staying healthy and are hopeful that campus can follow our lead.”
• 
  2021-10-01

  Tucson Epidemiologist Outspoken on Twitter

  Elizabeth Jacobs (@TheAngryEpi on Twitter) regularly tweets about the pandemic. She has been vocal about the University of Arizona's mitigation strategy, specifically how the university will not defy Governor Ducey's ban on mask mandates. She is a professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Arizona and has played a big role in the UA Vaccine POD and COVID-related research. She is particularly outspoken about vaccines and masks in education settings, not just at the university level but also for K-12.
• 
  2021-02-25

  Volunteering at the University of Arizona Vaccine POD

  The University of Arizona ran a drive-thru and walk-up vaccine POD for six months in 2021. During that time they provided more than 240,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Southern Arizona community. I volunteered at the POD for 10 shifts between February 2021 and May 2021, helping with traffic control to get as many cars safely through the stations, with observation to ensure everyone was okay after receiving their vaccine, and with registration to help get information all ready for the nurses giving the vaccine. It was great to be a part of the solution and helping people protect themselves and other community members. One woman, while waiting to get her shot, told me how excited she was to be able to hug her grandchildren again. She started crying because she was so relieved to see her family and feel safe doing it. It was a great atmosphere at the University of Arizona and everyone was working together for each other. Something I will never forget and that I'm proud to have been a part of. The photo is from my first shift in the observation area on the Mall, waiting for the POD to open and line cars up for observation post-vaccine.
• 2021-10-01

  I don't have any answers.

  One of the more grueling things to come out of the pandemic, for me at least, has been to watch my family fall prey to misinformation and fear-mongering. When the vaccines started coming out, my family refused to get them. I felt like I couldn't get them without causing an upset in my family. I figured that, since I am an online student and I rarely leave the house, it was okay if I didn't get vaccinated, but really the only reason I didn't was because I was afraid of my family's anger. I felt like I had no choice, to be honest. It's a horrible feeling. In addition, my mother convinced my grandparents that getting the COVID vaccine booster shot is pointless, because people who are vaccinated are still getting COVID. Even though from what I understand, this only happens in very rare cases. She also tried to scare me out of getting the vaccine by claiming that women who get it experience irregular menstruation, a sign of infertility, or sharing news stories of people who had allergic reactions, got sick from the shot, etc. I cannot adequately describe my sheer frustration with this attitude of thinking they know better than doctors. A month ago, my mother noticed a strange purchase listed on one of our bills. She called my father and learned that he had purchased Ivermectin, a drug normally given to horses, because he had read something on the Internet about how it could be used to treat COVID. People have been overdosing on this stuff and it makes them extremely sick or could even kill them. We were able to convince my father to return his purchase, but my mother heard from her chiropractor (a very strange and eccentric man, in my opinion) that his wife, a licensed doctor or nurse, had been giving her elderly father small dosages of Ivermectin to treat COVID, and that it had supposedly worked. She asked me if I thought she should tell my father this. I said no, because I don't think he understands the difference between a licensed medical professional doing something and a person with no medical training attempting to do the same. Having said all this, I also must admit that I do not know who or what to believe. Do I put by absolute faith and trust in anyone who is labeled an "expert"? Well, no. Experts are human, and they are not immune to mistakes. So part of me does understand people wanting to take matters into their own hands, because they feel like the only person they can completely trust is themselves. I just wish more common sense was used and more people were able to grasp nuances, I guess. Is that the experts' fault for not being clear enough, or is it the people's fault for not understanding? I don't have any answers. I don't think anyone does.
• 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.
• 2020-03-15

  Corona virus 2020

  During the beginning of 2020 everything seemed so fine. I was in school had started a new job at a plumbing company, was occasionally going out with my girlfriend. On top of making money, going to school, i was also hitting a gym and was super happy with my progress in every aspect of my life. All of this was good until, news about how a deadly virus was making its way into the United states from china and how bad it was going to be. Like everyone else i was petrified and i thought there's no way china would let a virus escape they're a powerhouse of a nation. But it did, I remember classes were shut down and shortly after my job was shut down as well, everyone, put in unemployment. During this time my parents had closed on a house and we had become homeowners. During quarantine i remember having to go to our new home and fixing it up everyday monday through sunday so while everyone was at home, doing nothing. My uncles, cousins, father and i were masked up just working in our home. But no matter how far apart we were on different floors and different days, we all got sick. We all also quickly recovered. The covid 19 pandemic didnt have a huge impact on me as much as it did for others. I know a lot of people close to me who lost their loved ones during the pandemic and its truly saddening. My progress with my daily life was lost, school that semester felt like a blur everyone was confused and scared, the gyms were closed, my jobs were closed. I remember hating my life at this moment in time because it felt like i wasn't doing anything but fixing our new family home which i wasn't eager to move in to. Once my jobs lifted in the beginning of june, i quickly picked up my tools and went back into work.
• 
  2020-04-01

  COVID-19 Through My Eyes

  This story is about my experience with Covid-19 and how my family and I endured the hardships we faced and everything we have gone through in the past years. This is important to me because it shares about the struggles we went through and shows what we experienced through what i consider to be the worst moments of my life.
• 2020-03-15

  The Pandemic Student

  Being a student during the COVID-19 pandemic seemed easy at first since we were all going to be at home for the rest of the Spring semester of 2020. I thought of it as a time to finally relax and slow down on classes now that we were going to be home. But I didn't expect the amount of change the pandemic actually brought to my life. I didn't realize how much I relied on my everyday school schedule to organize my daily routines. When in-person classes stopped, the first week of classes at home seemed easy. I thought I could do it. But as time passed, I realized how difficult it was to keep up with class demands as well as home demands now that both were in the same environment. Some of my classes became asynchronous, while others became live. Waking up on time became difficult when I was able to stay in the comfort of my bed the whole day. And being on my laptop for all of my classes made it easy to be distracted by other things on the internet. Being at home meant I could fall asleep in class without anyone directly seeing me. With no school schedule, such as common hours, walking to and from classes, meeting up with friends during gaps, the routine in my life seemed non-existent. I was at home all day, and my sense of order seemed to fade as the semester went on. The type of student I used to be was usually a lot more punctual, submitting assignments on time, taking notes during class, finishing homework early. But the type of student the pandemic changed me into was lazy, sleepy, tired, late in submitting assignments, more careless about classwork and homework, skipping a lot of note-taking in class, and delaying work. My orderly life, my daily routine, was now out of order and out of routine. It became very hard to be a good student during the pandemic because my lack of motivation swooped low. By Fall semester of 2020, I was already falling off track within the first two to three weeks. By the end of the semester, I even failed to submit an important final on time. Although I was becoming such a terrible student, many of my professors remained understanding, kind, and caring, giving me extended time on late assignments, and providing support when I needed it. I don't think I would have passed all of my classes if it weren't for the kindness of many of my professors. My worst semester was Spring of 2021. I had to take a writing intensive course. Although I was only taking 4 classes, that one class felt so heavy that it was the main course I was focusing on. The course also had a lab section, which would've been better done in-person. Doing in-person classes online was not the best experience. While in an in-person lab students would be working together and classwork would be done together, online we were just given directions and told to submit the classwork after working on it ourselves. It became so difficult that I ended up dropping the class and taking it again in the summer. Though it was my worst semester ever, my professors were still so kind and understanding, supporting my decision and wishing me well. Although it seemed being a student during the pandemic would be easy at the beginning, I quickly realized how far that was from the truth. The pandemic teared apart my routine, which I didn't realize how heavily I relied on. The order in my life felt close to chaotic at some point and affected so many aspects of my life: as a student, a daughter, a sister, my religion, and my social life. Right now, during the Fall 2021 semester, I'm still working on building up my routine and trying to stick to it, despite being at home. I've regained some of my motivation and try to submit assignments on time, but I don't always succeed. Balance is hard when two different parts of one's life—in my case, my school and home life—become one and the same. I had a hard time allocating appropriate time for school and appropriate time for family, chores, and self-care. Perhaps by now I've gotten a bit used to the pandemic, but still prefer in-person as it would bring back that order in my life: waking up, getting ready, going to class, finishing class, doing work during schedule gaps, going to another class, etc. Now my schedule is more like: wake up, class, eat breakfast during class, be unproductive during class gaps, go to another class, etc. And through all this, I'm also on my phone or watching something else, or talking to a family member, or doing something else distracting. However, since I've been trying to build up my routine and increase my motivation, it's been easier to pay attention and work harder in class. As a senior, I obviously want to graduate on time so that is definitely a motivational factor for me to do well this semester. Because in-person class options are now available, I look forward to bringing back order to my life next Spring semester.
• 2021-09-30T14

  LIFE OF A COLLEGE STUDENT BEFORE AND DURING THE PANDEMIC.

  Life itself is not easy, one has to find a way to be happy and live a good healthy life because we never know what might happen the next day or year ahead. Before the Coronavirus everything was pretty normal, people were going about their daily lives. Most people were not ready to face this type of hardship. During the Pandemic schools, Jobs, places to pray, and supermarkets were kept close. I remember my friend was excited about her Senior prom and we wanted to surprise her with a graduation party, however, things didn't go as planned so we had to stay home for the lockdown. My daily routine changed. I have to take all of my classes online. Around this time the cases become worse, death cases keep on increasing each time. At some point, I began to wonder why this Pandemic had to happen to us during the beginning of the year. There were days when we had to stand in a line to buy food. The saddest thing that I have heard was how few of my friends lost their loved ones. Life was not easy for them. I have to call and check on them every day. Many people became homeless because of eviction and there were no jobs, though some were lucky to apply for unemployment, that was not enough for the people to pay their rents and have to buy food. Each day when I wake up I always pray for us to have a vaccine because even the younger children that do not know much about this virus were also affected. In 2021 when the Covid-19 vaccine was released it was great news however, some people didn't want to take it because they thought that it was risky. The most difficult thing is how people have to go back to their normal life system again.
• 2020-03-20

  The blurry year

  I just started at Brooklyn College as a transfer student from Citytech. The semester was only like 5 weeks in when we started seeing reports of the Covid 19. Then the school closed for a day and we were told it only be for a short amount of time, we all know how that went. I haven't been on campus since that last day. There was so much unknown at the time with everything. How long we were going to be away from school, what was the deal with Covid 19, how dangerous was it, and how we were going to survive. At that point, everything closed, and the city was so quiet for the first time in my life. I came out a different person after the lockdown. It was a scary time for a lot of people. It felt like everyone was struggling with something. My biggest thing was just trying to make the best of the situation. and that's what I still do to this day.
• 
  2021-09-28

  Random COVID-19 testing on campus

  I received this email notifying me that I need to get a COVID-19 test. The email states that unvaccinated and vaccinated community members are chosen randomly. I've been chosen once already in September and I took a test voluntarily last week, but I suppose it is better to test and know. It's really easy to take the saliva test, there is a vending machine/pickup table in the MU, you pick up a kit, register your kit online, and then return your saliva sample. So, I'm not at all bothered by this process.
• 2020-12-09

  Life in the Pandemic

  My life in the pandemic was tough. I couldn't work so I was not able to pay my bills, I like the rest of the world during lockdown had to sit at home bored out of my mind because nobody could leave. I was very scared for my mom when she got covid because she had oxygen issues and also heart issues. Going to school during the pandemic really bothered me because I lost a lot of focus and became very lazy when it came to handing in assignments. I would rather physically go onto campus because when I am actually listening to the professors' talk, it makes it so much easier to understand and to focus.
• 
  2020-03

  Life of a College Student During a Pandemic

  The COVID-19 pandemic has affected so many people all across the globe in many different ways. One of the big groups of people that have been affected in the United States is college students. I was a semester and a half into my freshman year here at Duquesne when everything began to take a turn for the worse. Looking back to then, I was still finding my way and learning what it was like to be a college student at the time, just beginning to become familiar with the lifestyle. The past year and a half as a college student has been a long and hard process of transitioning into life as a college student during a global pandemic. Simple things like going to class in person, to eating with my friends in the dining hall were not as simple as they once seemed. Many students, like myself, struggled with being as involved in online classes like we were during in person classes. Along with that, I struggled with retaining a lot of the information given to me by my professors during class time, communication between student and professor was not as easy as it used to be. But not only has the education aspect of college changed drastically, there has been a huge change in the social aspect of college as well. Simple things like meeting with some friends to go get dinner after a long week of classes was not as easy as it once was. Looking back, freshman year now feels like an eternity ago, a lot about my life as a college student has changed due to this pandemic. Certainly, things are becoming better, and we are getting closer to normality, but the pandemic still affects me as a college student till this day. Still having to wear masks on campus as well as getting a COVID test when feeling a little bit sick are some things I have had to deal with recently. Life as a college student is ever changing during the pandemic, it has been very hard at times, but it is certainly something I will never forget.
• 
  2020-03

  March 2020: A Life-changing Month

  The year 2020 was looking to be much like other years that I spent in college. I was going to be going to classes, meeting up with friends, and working out most days. As March approached, my excitement grew. Spring break was coming, and I had a scheduled trip to Cancun, Mexico. There was talk of a virus spreading through China, but it was very unknown to us. Prior to our trip, we joked about contracting the virus. Little did we know, that would be the week living in the world the way we knew it. My trip to Mexico was everything I wanted it to be and more, but I was ready to come home and finish the semester. We came back from Mexico, and I returned to Duquesne. Within one week of my return, everything changed. Universities around the country started to close for, what we thought at the time, two weeks. Duquesne followed suit. School did not return that semester and the entire country began to shut down. There was a lot of fear and unknown. One minute I was having the trip of a lifetime, and the next minute I was at home with my family only leaving to get groceries. We began using masks everywhere we went, using hand sanitizer many times a day, and staying as far away from others as possible. Although life felt like it completely stopping, the pandemic allowed my family and I to experience something that we might never get to experience again: over a month of quality time together. I was now doing school via zoom and my father, brother, and uncle were home from work. During this time, my family spent a lot of time together. My father and I would find interesting ways to work out every day since our gym had been shut down (see artifact image for a picture of my watch after completing a weighted vest walk. We began these weighted vest walks during the pandemic.). We would watch Netflix series as a family, do puzzles, and even play board games together. I will never forget these memories, even though they were accompanied by fear of the Coronavirus.
• 
  2021-09-16T13:00:00

  Tiffany Lam and Daniel Berry Oral History, 2021/09/16

  This is a quick interview between two freshmen in college, recapping our overall thoughts throughout the pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Lockdown in the Frozen Tundra

  When we first got the news about school closing down for a couple days, school was the last thing on my friend group and I's minds. When we got off school that gloomy March day, I instantly met up with my friends to go up north for a trip we had been planning for weeks. I was so excited because we had so many activities planned such as snowshoeing, hiking, and snowmobiling. After we all met up, we packed up the car and left. At the time, we had heard things about Covid-19 from around the world, but we were all still pretty foggy on what it is and what it does to you. It was almost as if we acknowledged that it existed, but told ourselves that it could never happen in the United States. When we got there, we unpacked all of our things and quickly headed outside to go snowshoeing on a nearby path. When we were through with our activities for the day, we headed back to the cabin. I remember checking my phone and having a bunch of texts from my parents and friends saying that they had just cancelled school for another couple of weeks, and I started to think that maybe this whole thing was more serious than I had thought. Looking back on this picture, I look at all of our faces and notice that we were so oblivious to what we were about to experience. This is essentially the picture taken before our lives changed forever.
• 
  2021-09

  Appreciating Family

  When reflecting back on my own experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a lot of things that come to mind: how my freshmen year of college was completely upended, how I did not feel safe to return to my part-tine job, and especially how nerve-wracking it was to watch world leaders navigate through a crisis we had yet to see in our lifetime. Acknowledging these difficulties that I personally faced, along with the challenges people across the world faced, is crucial because, unfortunately, fear is apart of this story that history will tell; however, I have always found myself someone who tries to remain rather optimistic, which I find myself doing as I share my story. Though I hesitate to call the COVID-19 pandemic a ‘blessing in disguise,’ it did open my eyes and help me to become much more grateful for one huge aspect of my life: my family. I have been very privileged to have a close and loving family my entire life, though it took me a while to realize what a privilege this was. Sitting down each night to dinner and having a lively conversation with my mom, dad, and younger brother was the norm to me, so I rarely considered the notion that that wasn’t the same for everybody else. When the pandemic first struck and shut down life as we knew it, I – a 19-year-old college student – suddenly found myself back at home living every single day with my family. This was a very jarring shift for me after experiencing the freedom that college granted me, but I quicky began to see how lucky I was to have a loving and accepting family to get through this difficult time with. Of course, this is not to say I never got frustrated with constantly being around my family, but it made me appreciate all the good moments that we had together. Together, we formed a stronger bond as a family that helped us to get through the physical and mental toll the pandemic had brought. From trying new meals together, watching new shows/movies together, to creating wacky videos to share with our friends and family, and so much more, I began to appreciate all the little moments we had together. As things somewhat begin to return to a state of ‘normalcy,’ I continue to reflect on this time I spent with my family, and I cannot help but feel a huge sense of gratitude. I truly have learned to appreciate everything they have done for me (and continue to do), as well as learned to appreciate many more facets of my life. Nowadays, I find myself much more cognizant of the seemingly simple things and not taking them for granted. It is strange to think that something such as a global pandemic can be the thing that really cements an idea or feeling in our minds, but that is what COVID-19 did for me and my appreciation for my wonderful family.
• 
  2021-09-16

  Assignment for Literature and Cultural Analysis Seminar

  I'm sharing an assignment sheet for my "Literature and Cultural Analysis" class at Vanderbilt University for the Fall 2021 semester. The class, themed "The Archive," is designed to encourage critical thinking around the concept of the archive and its material practices and embodiments. While we think of the ways in which archives enable research and help to cultivate new knowledge and stories, we also consider how archives encode structures of power and act as sites of forgetting as much as remembering. I've asked my class of twelve students to contribute to the COVID-19 digital archive as their first writing assignment for the semester. This assignment is designed to introduce them to an existing and regularly updated archive and ask them to think critically about processes of archiving and the decisions that go into selecting, categorizing, and framing the importance of a cultural artifact. My students have been asked to choose 2-3 items from their experience of the pandemic year to share in this public forum. Their contributions will be tagged to sync up with this assignment sheet.
• 
  2021-09-12

  Oreoluwapo Omotayo-Benson and Christopher Combs Oral History, 2021/09/12

  This interview contains two personal accounts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The questions discussed cover multiple aspects of the pandemic, and how it has shaped our lives as high school/college students.
• 
  2020-09-16

  Vanderbilt Covid Testing

  This photo is a screenshot of an email that I received during the Fall 2020 semester at Vanderbilt University. Throughout the semester, I received many emails that looked exactly like that one. The email is proof of a negative Covid test result, which every Vanderbilt student had to receive each week during the fall semester in order to remain living in their dorm. If a student tested positive, they would be taken from their dorm into quarantine housing. For some context, in March of 2020, all Vanderbilt students were sent home early due to the coronavirus. From March onward through the summer, Vanderbilt students worried about their fate as students. Would we be allowed to return to Nashville in the fall? Would we be subjected to more online “college”, trapped in our childhood bedrooms? This anxiety physically ate away at me, keeping me in a constant state of unease. When we finally heard that we would be coming back to campus, it felt as though an immense, invisible weight had been released from my shoulders. We were told, however, that there would be restrictions to college life. At that moment, I did not care an ounce. I would happily take any variation of college, as long as I would be able to live on campus. One of my major stressors entering that year was that we would be kicked off campus a second time. Callous students loudly proclaimed that this was inevitable, there would be no way that we would last this upcoming year. Comments like this brought the anxiety right back to the pit of my stomach. As a student who was going to be living on campus, what would I do if I was kicked off? Where would I go? I did not even want to think about that as a possibility. But that was the energy that charged the air at Vanderbilt that year: there was a fear and a deep distrust that Vanderbilt would stay open. One of the key differences between this year and other years at Vanderbilt was the weekly Covid testing (In the spring semester, the Covid testing was twice weekly). Students were required to enroll in times in their schedule when they would trek over to the Rec, or the large gym on campus, to spit in a tube. At the beginning of the year, I would go with my friends during our allotted time. We soon learned, however, that it did not really matter when you went, as long as went sometime during the week. While this was in some ways comical, to walk into the Rec center, with pop music blaring, and spit alongside your college peers, there was something stressful about it as well. It was like constantly turning yourself in; if you did have the misfortune of having Covid, you had willingly given yourself over for the school to come and take you away. Especially at the beginning, fear of Covid was rampant. Even if you felt fine, a scratchy throat may seem like your doom. At the beginning of the semester especially, waiting for the emailed results felt like eternity. And we all knew what would happen to people who tested positive, or those unfortunate enough to be contact traced: they were shipped off in a golf cart for everyone to see, and were banished from the rest of campus. But this was worth it, all of it was worth it for us. The stress of getting tested and the fear of being quarantined was a miniscule price to pay for being able to be on campus, with our friends. It was an escape from our summers of restriction. Or at least, it was for me. And for that, I give Vanderbilt tremendous credit for opening and following through successfully with the covid-testing of all the students each week.
• 
  2020-03-11

  The Vanderbilt University COVID Shutdown

  This is a photo of an ABC news segment that was aired on March 11th, 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic in the United States. The photo shows an interview of a Vanderbilt student (me!). The caption reads “Undergrad Students Must Move out by Sunday”. The interview was taken on a Wednesday, which had been the day that the students were notified that they would need to vacate the campus. The Monday of that week, March 9th, had been our first day after spring break. That same day, we received the first email about the Coronavirus. It stated that classes would be cancelled for the next two weeks. At that time, some students and parents began to panic. Some students decided to leave campus for those two weeks, and believed that they would simply return after those two weeks. These students only took the belongings that they would need for those two weeks, and many of them left the majority of their things in their rooms. Two days later, on the Wednesday of that week, the students received a second email that we would all need to leave campus, and that we had until that Sunday to move all of things out entirely. Naturally, mass chaos ensued as students struggled to figure out how to move all of their things. Most students did not have any help from parents or family, as many people were afraid to travel. This time was a blur of stress, fear, and sadness as students mourned the year that was left unfinished. It was a charged frenzy of packing and moving, but despite this, all around the Vanderbilt’s campus, friends could be seen hugging and crying, particularly the graduating seniors. It was truly surreal in the worst way possible. For me, this picture represents that entire, horrific, move-out experience. On the day that I found out that we would need to leave for the remainder of the year, I was in a practice room in my dorm with one of my friends. He had just been telling me how he had been fighting with his father over whether or not to leave during the two weeks without class. He, of course, wanted to stay on campus, but his father was convinced that he needed to come home. I had already conceded to my parents on that battle, and had plane tickets to come home for the Friday of that week. I, like everyone else, thought that I would only be going home for two weeks like the email had explained. I also was willing to be home for the two weeks to see my family, as I had been in the UK over spring break, which had caused major tensions with my parents. Wednesday’s email confirmed our worst fears: we would all be forced to leave for the rest of the year. I remember feeling completely numb. I walked out of the room to call my parents, while my friend called his. As I spoke to my mom, I realized that I would need to pack up all of my things extremely quickly. She advised me to go to the UPS store to get boxes; as soon as my friend and I were both off the phone, we went straight there, buying up many boxes each to begin packing. While we tried to smile and be upbeat, both of us were still in utter shock. With every ounce of my being, I did not want to leave. It was my sophomore year, and college finally seemed to be mine; I had a phenomenal group of friends who I loved deeply, I was involved on campus, and I loved my classes and professors. The tragedy of it all reverberated through me in waves. As devastated as I was, I had a more imminent task to focus on: moving out. Once we had bought our boxes, we realized that we could not carry them back to campus, and ordered an Uber. As I struggled to carry my boxes from the Uber, I noticed a news crew stationed outside of my dorm. “Could we ask you a few questions?” they called to the pair of us as we labored with our boxes. My insides swirled with anger and frustration about the whole situation, about the unfairness of it all. “Yeah, for sure!” I responded. Maybe someone would actually listen to us, and understand the insanity that we were experiencing. While I don’t remember the exact questions asked, I remember telling them that we had just picked up boxes as we were required to leave campus later that week. I attempted to communicate how upsetting this was to the entire student body. While I have never actually seen this news clip, a friend of mine sent me this picture of me being interviewed. For me, this picture captures how surreal the move out was. I was on the news, and I forgot all about it. It honestly meant nothing to me in that moment, as my world was pulled out from beneath me.
• 
  2020

  Brooklyn College HNSC Prompt

  Brooklyn College HNSC assignment prompt, taught by Margrethe Horlyck-Romanovsky
• 2020-04-01

  Finishing my Undergraduate Degree during the Pandemic

  I was starting the last semester of my undergraduate degree when the pandemic hit the globe. At this time (around March 2020) I was planing to work on my senior honors thesis and happy to start my master's degree in October 2020. But in order to finish my thesis, I had to do some intensive research first: my plan was to visit a big German archive in Berlin and also to do some research in a couple of libraries. But just before I could do so, all German institutions went into lockdown and closed for months due to health precautions. As somebody who studied History and had to visit an archive for my thesis, I felt like I was totally stuck in my academic studies. I felt like it was impossible to finish my studies in the scheduled time, and for months I didn't know how to continue my academic work. Luckily, my university was considerate enough to extend the submission date for my thesis. After a couple of months of not knowing if I could start my master's degree in time (and in general not knowing how my academic and financial future would look like if I didn't finish my undergraduate degree in time) the archives and libraries opened up again, and I could continue my research and finish my thesis.
• 
  2020-09-24

  The Mask

  I wrote this poem during my senior year shortly after Providence College began its campus lockdown in September of 2020 in response to a major spike in COVID-19 cases. Unable to leave my apartment on campus for days at a time except to go for a walk by myself around campus, I felt the weight of the emotional impacts of the pandemic. I wrote the poem from a place of hurt and concern that my fellow students could not abide by guidelines to keep the campus community and the surrounding community safe. Masks were simultaneously hiding our fears while also being a constant reminder of them. I published this poem in the Portfolio section of The Cowl, Providence College's student-run newspaper. It appeared in the October 1, 2020 issue.