Items

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  2020-09-20

  Northeastern University HIST 1219 Assignment Prompt

  This assignment was given to students in Northeastern University's HIST 1219, History of Global Pandemics, taught by Dr. Streets-Salter in Fall 2020, and then taught by a graduate student in Fall 2021.
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  2020-12-04

  Northeastern University HIST 1323 Optional Assignment Prompt

  This is an optional assignment given to students in Northeastern University HIST 1323, History of Boston, taught by Dr. Rabinovitch in Fall 2020.
• 
  07/30/2020

  Christopher Viveiros Oral History, 2020/07/30

  Northeastern University student Alex Bice interviewed the Director of Communications at Fenway Health Christopher Viveiros. In this interview, they discuss what Fenway Health does for its community and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their interactions with the community. Fenway Health has been able to create signage, update its website, send out emails, and resort to telehealth appointments to help the people in the community that doesn’t to be seen in person. Viveiros is concerned that the voices of many minority communities are not being heard, but is glad that some health officials have been able to speak the truth.
• 
  09/24/2020

  Christina Lefebvre and Lynne Goltra Oral History, 2020/09/24

  An interview with a Massachusetts General Hospital OBGYN detailing the struggles of COVID and how the medical community has responded to the pandemic.
• 
  2021-12-16

  CT and LG Oral History, 2021/12/16

  This is the second part of a podcast by two college students. In this part they discuss the similarities they have found in how they experienced COVID and what they learned about past pandemics.
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  2021-12-11

  Olivia Valenti Oral History, 2021/12/11

  It illustrates what college was like during the pandemic
• 
  2021-12-10T14:00:00

  Brigid Halliday And Jaden Weinstein Oral History, 2021/12/10

  In this interview, the focus will be less about your experiences in the pandemic (although your experience in college during the pandemic is certainly something that you might want to talk about) and more about the ways learning about past pandemics has or has not affected your attitude toward, or perception of, the current pandemic.
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  2021-12-08

  Lily Conway and Mulan Ozeki Oral History, 2021/12/08

  It says how educating yourself on the past can always provide insight on current struggles.
• 
  2021-12-08

  End of Semester Covid-19 Interview Oral History 2021/12/08

  This interview is about our thoughts and understandings of the Covid-19 pandemic after having taken a semester-long course about the history of pandemics spanning from the black plague until the Spanish flu. We've discussed how we think the world could have handled this pandemic differently, the similarities and differences between this pandemic and previous pandemics, and how this pandemic affected our personal lives.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Northeastern Virtual Indigenous People's Day 2020

  Article regarding virtual Indigenous People's Day.
• 
  2021

  What Does It Mean to Be Indigenous?

  This is a video on being Indigenous by CBC News.
• 
  2020-09-14

  Virtual Pow Wows - A result of Covid -19

  Every year as a tradition Tribes of Native Americans gather to celebrate through song and dance at events known as Pow Wows. These events reinforce long-honored traditions, the most important being unification. The Pow wows allow for the togetherness of the people and the connectedness of the tribes. Covid -19 brought an abrupt halt to that for hundreds of indigenous tribes across the U.S and Canada. As a result, the only way to share some of these meaningful traditions was to offer a virtual option. While not the same it did allow for some of the singing and dancing competitions to take place. The long-term after effect though is that not having the in-person Pow Wow resulted in a significant loss of revenue for those tribes that were hosting the event. Pow Wows bring in significant revenue from vendors and non-indigenous spectators. This loss has had a trickle-down effect on the indigenous communities making it more difficult to endure the pandemic. As a parent of a Northeastern student, not having the ability to have my daughter physically share in the in-person powwows is disappointing. Pow wows are more than just celebrations they are an opportunity to connect with your identity and heritage-which is vital for the younger generations.
• 
  2020-03

  Being Indigenous During COVID-19

  I am a Game Art major at Full Sail University, but my sister goes to Northeastern University, so we are a Northeastern family. I am of Mayan descent, so living through COVID-19 was a little scary because we got all the news and updates about how COVID-19 was ravaging Mayan communities in Guatemala. We live in the USA in a rural area, so we were a little "safer," but the fear remained. I am proud of my people and my heritage, and I don't doubt our ability to survive the pandemic. Here is a quick sketch I made.
• 
  2021-09-24

  Mert Erden Oral History, 2021/09/24

  Danny Rollo interviews Mert Erden about life during COVID-19 from its beginning to current times. Mert discusses the feeling of being depressed during lockdown but reveals his more positive outlook on the pandemic as he believes that society has greatly improved as time has passed. Mert also talks about the actions of the United States government in response to the pandemic.
• 
  2021-09-24

  Mert Erden interviews Danny Rollo about Living Through COVID-19

  The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent.
• 
  2021-09-27

  Garima Sehgal Oral History, 2021/09/27

  Two Northeastern students discuss how the pandemic affected their lives, including the impacts of the pandemic on their communities
• 
  2021-09-24

  COVID-19 Archive Project

  Two students interview each other about the pandemic and how it affected their life.
• 
  2021-09-23

  Advika Chaudhari and Matthew Bonfanti Oral History, 2021/09/23

  This is important because it provides the experience of students who had to adapt to several changes during the pandemic who may have had different experiences.
• 
  2021-09-23

  Tuck Gesner and Natalie Sturman, Oral History, 2021/09/23

  This video gives our accounts of life in the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2021-09-17

  MA, AP and JK Oral History, 2021/09/17

  This is a casual interview about the effects of COVID on mental health, academics, family life, etc. We discuss the biggest impact COVID had on us, our experience with the pandemic, what we did over quarantine, and much more, from the perspective of college freshmen.
• 
  2021-09-21

  Hogan Choi and Reily O'Buckley Oral History, 2021/09/21

  This is an interview between two Northeastern University students on how Covid-19 that shared their thoughts about the impact of Covid 19 both personally and globally.
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  2021-09-21

  Haig and Tia Oral History, 2021/09/21

  I think it's really important to document everyday life during the pandemic because soon everyone will forget what it was like.
• 
  2021-09-21

  Ludo and Ben Oral History 09/21/2021

  We completed this interview for our History of Global Pandemics class, which we take at Northeastern University.
• 
  2021-09-20

  Covid-19 Archive Project

• 2020-09-18

  MO and LC Oral History, 2021/09/18

  Basic interviews between two college students looking back on the start of the pandemic.
• 
  2021-09-17

  Ariel Emrani and Kate Roche Oral History, 2021/09/17

  This audio file shares two perspectives and personal stories about the pandemic.
• 
  2021-09-15

  CT and LG Oral History, 2021/09/15

  Two college students recall how their final years of high school were changed by COVID-19, discussing how sports were cancelled and classes went online.
• 
  2021-09-16

  Melissa Amante, Arina Konovalova, and Elisabeth Knott Oral History, 2021/09/16

  We described the social and emotional challenges that we faced when the lockdown first began. This included the topics of education, social media, and mental health.
• 
  2021-09-15

  Jack and Megan; Covid-19 Stories

  This podcast tells the story of two individuals experiences through COVID-19.
• 
  2020

  HIST 5241 Northeastern Prompt

  Prompt given to partner class HIST 5241 of Northeastern University, Spring 2020, instructor Victoria Cain
• 2020-12-21

  Fall Semester Admist a Global Pandemic

  I am a student enrolled in Northeaster's first semester freshmen year study abroad program. As a member of the NU IN program I was originally going to be in Prague for this semester but due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19 that site was shut down. I ended up "studying abroad" 15 mins down the street from Northeastern at the Westin in Copley plaza. Living in a hotel for the first semester of college was a very different experience than what I was expecting; however, the nice hotel wasn't the only standout of the semester. As a result of the pandemic all of my classes, like almost every of student, were conducted over zoom. Some of my professors were not even in the United States, but were teaching me virtually from London. The social aspect of college also presented its own new challenges as students had to limit capacity in common spaces, social distance, and of course wear masks. While this new aspect of college was difficult to get used to, after a month or so I got the hang of it. I got into a rhythm of taking classes in the hotel but still going to campus and getting out to explore the city with new friends. As a matter of fact living of campus first semester was great because I was better able to explore more parts of the city. While i have no doubt studying abroad would have been a lot of fun, the whole NU IN community really came together to try and make this semester great, and despite all of the craziness of the pandemic and election season, this semester was one full of memories and a great start to my college experience.
• 
  2020-09

  College During COVID-19

  The first semester of college can be an extremely challenging time for incoming freshman students in a "normal year," nevertheless during a pandemic. The first semester of college holds so many changes- living on your own, financing money, attending more rigorous classes, making new friends, exploring a new city, and so much more. In a regular year, students can easily adapt to these changes, especially by making new friends and exploring a new city, as there are not usually many gathering restrictions. This year, freshman have had to determine new ways to meet people and how to have as normal of a freshman experience as one could. These adaptations can be seen in many shapes and forms. For me, I decided that I needed to be even more social than I normally would be in a year without a pandemic, leading me to foster resilience. I decided to start conversations with people who I rode the elevator with, people walking around campus and people in the hallways/lobby/common spaces of the Westin. These forms of communication led me to meeting many new people and finding a solid group of friends of whom I enjoy spending time with. After meeting people that I truly connected with and who the conversations flowed naturally with, I would make further plans with them to meet up again. At the beginning of the semester, this was a difficult task because Northeastern prohibited us from entering any room other than our own, so we needed to find new places to hang out. Oftentimes I found my friends and I exploring the city, watching TV in the common rooms, shopping on Newbury Street, and going out to dinner together. This proved to be quite expensive. The many challenges in which incoming freshmen faced this semester have led to many freshmen, including myself, fostering resilience. We have seamlessly adapted to the overwhelming hurdles in which we faced with positive mindsets and optimism. Overall, this unique semester has given me some of the best moments of my life, despite the ongoing pandemic! My story of my first semester of college proves that the one can make the most of their time throughout the pandemic if they respond with optimism and adaptability! The photo included in this archive pictures my new friends and me exploring the city on a warm fall night!
• 
  2020-12-07

  Healthcare Education in the Covid-19 Pandemic

  These are my students who are training at Northeastern University to become Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) The pandemic has created restrictions that have made training the healthcare providers of tomorrow more challenging than ever before. Students must be in full personal protective equipment including a facemask, faceshield, gown, and gloves. Between faceshield fogging, trouble breathing in the masks during more rigorous physical components to training, and many other obstacles to their learning, the students have shown inspiring levels of resilience. Their strength during these difficult times serves as a constant reminder to me of the ability of the human spirit to overcome any and all challenges, and inspires me to continue to try and find ways to mitigate the effects of the challenges due to the pandemic. Students deserve a proper education and experience, and it is up to educators to match their students efforts in overcoming the barriers that Covid-19 has constructed.
• 
  2020-12-08

  Jared Walpurgis Oral History, 2020/12/08

  Three months ago, Jared and I conducted an interview talking about our personal reactions and experiences with COVID. Now, he provides a shocking update as well as answers to how we can relate themes of anti-masks and anti-vaccines to past pandemics.
• 
  12/08/2020

  Gordie Croce Oral History, 2020/12/07

  Gordie and I sat down almost three months ago to discuss the onset of Covid-19 and our introduction to college with the pandemic. Now, we look at we have learned throughout our courses about previous pandemics and relate it back to the one we are still dealing with today.
• 
  12/08/2020

  Erika Knox Oral History, 2020/12/08

  We discussed our view on the COVID-19 pandemic after taking a semester-long history course on the history of global pandemics.
• 
  2020-11-19

  Student Life During a Global Pandemic in Boston

  I was supposed to spend my first semester of college abroad in Rome, Italy as part of my acceptance into Northeastern's NUin program. Due to the pandemic, I had to switch my location to London, England and then ended up having to switch to Boston, Massachusetts. But despite the unexpected change in location and covid-19 guidelines, I ended up having an amazing first semester here in Boston. Life on the Northeastern campus was definitely not what I was expecting for my first year of college, but my peers and I were able to quickly adapt to the safety guidelines and online classes. My entire education relied on one thing this year... the strength of my WiFi connection. As you can see in the photo, all of my classwork, textbooks, assignments, and professors were primarily accessible from my laptop. Instead of being taught in-person with a live professor, all I had to do to get to my class was open my computer and click a link to a Zoom meeting. This made it easy to attend class, but it also made it very difficult to focus during class because I was able to mute myself if I didn't feel like paying attention. If I learned anything from going to school during the covid-19 pandemic, it was self discipline. This is because I had to make sure that I stayed focused on my classes when I could have easily not been paying attention.
• 
  12/07/2020

  Lauren Murray Oral History, 2020/12/07

  Interview with a college student studying historical diseases about how COVID-19 compares to past pandemics. Comparison to 1918 Influenza pandemic and Black Death.
• 
  2020-12-04

  College During Covid

  College has definitely been a whirlwind of emotions during the pandemic. As a freshman, my first year was far from traditional. Strict rules and regulations have been put in place and made it hard to meet new people and get the full college experience. As a student at northeastern, there have been many regulations such as no more than 1 to a table at the dining halls, mostly online classes, and no going to watch sports games. While this is hard because it makes it difficult to feel like part of a community at school, Northeastern has done a wonderful job of keeping its students and staff safe. In the picture provided, it captures the idea of Boston late at night, but instead of the usually bustling city, one can see that it seems to be rather calm. This is because Boston had implemented a 9:30 pm curfew for all of its residents. Because of this pandemic, the city and school life has been drastically different, and many students are looking forward to less regulations when this pandemic is over.
• 
  2020-11-21

  University COVID Isolation Experience

  This is a photograph of my final meal delivery on the 17th consecutive day of Northeastern University’s COVID isolation. I woke up the morning after election day to a text from one of my friends saying that he tested positive with COVID. Northeastern is very thorough with their COVID protocol, and I knew that I was minutes away from a phone call from the university telling me that I was contact traced. Immediately, I packed my suitcase and made sure to pack a pillow and blanket as I knew they weren't provided. Shortly after, my case manager called me and gave me instructions to move to the quarantine dorm and begin my 14-day lockdown. Most of my friends that were contact traced with me had their parents pick them up to avoid the very unappealing experience. The ability to work in person is crucial for my parents, so I would have felt very guilty if I brought COVID into the house. My decision to stay was very challenging, as the 14 days were incredibly daunting. Completely my usual schoolwork felt way more difficult because of the unmotivating environment. The food made the experience way more difficult; I couldn't receive any outside meals. On my 7th day, halfway through, I woke up to several university voicemails urging me to call back immediately. My heart was racing while on hold because the intent of the call was obvious to me. Sure enough, they explained that I had tested positive and needed to follow new procedures. The worst part was my duration extension. The protocol is ten days after a positive result landing me at a total of 17 days. Fortunately, my professors were very understanding given the circumstances, and I made up the assignments I missed from the ordeal. As a young and healthy person, the symptoms I faced were very mild and curtailed in only a few days. We were all so surprised that it took me an entire week from exposure to test positive. I was satisfied that I stayed in quarantine and avoided bringing the virus home. The more excited I was to leave, the slower the days went by. I kept my bags from my daily food deliveries to illustrate the time I had been in quarantine. Picking up my last bag from the hall was a fantastic feeling; I knew that I could return to my regular routine the following morning. After leaving, the university's restrictions that used to bother me seemed so insignificant. I realized that following the protocol was commendable because we all want things to go back to normal.
• 
  2020-11-04

  Isolation

  This is a picture of the gifts that Northeastern had sent to me while I was in Isolation after testing positive. This story is special to me because it shows the community that is shown towards others even through hard times. Northeastern still took care of me as a student and person even after I had tested positive. This attention towards students is what creates a strong academic community and should be displayed towards everyone.
• 2020-12-02

  The Covid-19 Pandemic

  When the Covid-19 pandemic hit America in March of 2020, all of us were caught off guard and unaware of how long this would last. Today we have adjusted our way of living with the promise that things would go back to how they used to be but with no promise date. Being honest, i don't think life will ever return to the way things were before this pandemic, but that could have positive effects potentially. Surface level things like wearing a mask on public transportation and to doctors offices and such, but also deeper things like the public movement for young people to be conscious of the effects their actions have and a need to protect our elderly. My story was that of a high school senior, graduating during a pandemic, and now a college freshman at Northeastern University still trying to learn while a pandemic is going on. Not to mention I live in a hotel instead of a dorm, making my freshman year housing the best housing I'll have during my whole college career. There have been many adjustments that is just part of the social norm now, like me freaking out when i forget my mask in my room; a mask being just as important as having my phone and my wallet. Getting tested every three days is now not only normal, but expected and upheld by the students. Even with all these precautions taken by the university and myself, I currently am positive for Covid-19. It's been an experience to say the least, and I was not one of those fortunate patients to have no symptoms partly because I do have asthma. Yet through this the Northeastern Wellness department has done an amazing job of making sure I was connected to a doctor and safely isolating as well as quickly contact tracing everyone. I'm currently recovering and still able to do my work thats thankfully online as well as in person, but I could easily switch to remote learning.
• 
  2020-12-02

  Studying From Home During a Pandemic

  This is a picture of me, Dylan Sacks. I am currently a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston Massachusetts. Although I was on campus for the majority of the semester this year, I am home for about 10 weeks in total, because of the pandemic. Although Northeastern is unique compared to other schools because the majority of other schools around the country did not allow students to come back to campus after thanksgiving because of the pandemic, I made the personal choice to stay home until second semester begins (mid-january) for my own safety. This is where I spend most of my time, studying and working hard. On the computer monitor the application "Zoom" is pulled up. This is what all of my classes use so the students can feel as if we still have class. The difficulty is trying to feel as though these are normal times, and Northeastern and their amazing staff are doing everything they can to give us the closest they can to a traditional college experience.
• 
  2020-03-22

  The Run

  In the beginning of the pandemic, I, like many others, was somewhat sure everything would inevitably blow over and we would be able to return to our normal lives. However, I came to unfortunately realize that we were in it for the long haul. I realized that I was going to have to start taking charge of my own life as it was essentially flipped on its back. I no longer went to school where I was preparing for APs. I no longer had my Track and Fields practices which were keeping me active and in shape. And I no longer got to see all of my friends everyday. The pandemic taught me that I would have to take the position of my teachers and prepare myself for my APs as well as my coaches to keep myself in shape and healthy. I began to study almost everyday and really developed a theme of resiliency within my life to bounce back from the detrimental effects of the pandemic. However, this story isn't about how I studied and prepared for my APs, its about how I ran and kept running the whole time of quarantine and how it led to some unforgettable experiences. When quarantine began I knew I was going to have to start taking charge when it came to my health and fitness. So, my friend and I began to run everyday at a local park near our houses. We would run through the woods and by the rivers and we just had a really good time. We were staying in shape and felt better than ever. And, we weren't just running on a track in a loop 20 times, we were exploring nature and becoming more accustomed to having to do things for ourselves. However, one day, this excitement that running brought to us would be exchanged with fear for once. My friend and I were running besides this river that we always run along. The river was quite tame a majority of the time but that day it had rained the night before and the rapids of the river were growing increasingly ferocious. We decided to stop at this one edge along the river and take a break as it was extremely humid that day. The river was very close to where we stopped so my friend decided to splash his face with some water from the river. And, without hesitation the river stepped him into its fearful rapids. I was scrambling. I didn't know what to do or what to think as my friend barreled down the river. I started running, screaming, and trying to think of something, anything, to help my friend. He was already at least 50 yards down the river and I was slacking behind trying to come up with some makeshift idea to save him. I knew there was no waterfall to worry about, however, the river was shallow rocks beneath the rivers surface were sharp and deadly. I began to run down the rivers edge to catch up to my friend. I looked around to find anything to throw to him that he could lodge between a rock or something. I began to dig up a bunch of leaves to look for a long enough stick, however, I ended up finding something that would prove to be even more useful. I found an old wooden plank. I was so scared and restless to find something so I took what I could find and threw it to my friend. And, he was able to lodge it between the bank and a rock sticking out of the river. I was able to pull him out of the river and he was saved. We were both in shock and had no idea what to make of the situation. I was scared and confused and didn't even know what to say. My friend finally broke the silence by saying the most anticlimactic phrase for that situation, "thanks." I said "your welcome" and then we both just started laughing and got up and walked back home. Evidently enough, the plank from the picture is the one that perhaps saved my friends life and is something I don't think I will ever forget. This event showed me just how unforgettable this pandemic is going to be. Like I said, I don't think ill ever forget what happened to my friend, and I will always remember the year 2020 as the year of unforgettable instances. My friend falling into that river showed me that things are going to happen in our lives that we aren't prepared for. I, like many others across the world weren't prepared for what this pandemic was going to do to our day to day lives. However, we learned to live with it and how to solve this problem just like how I was able to solve my friends problem and save him from that river. The pandemic has taught us just how unpredictable our lives can be, and just like how I saved my friend from that river, we have to learn how to save ourselves and overcome the unpredictability that this world has to evidently offer.
• 
  2020-06-20

  Being a High School Senior During a Pandemic

  As a high school senior, I was looking forward to my long awaited graduation. I had the honor and burden of being a student at Boston Latin School, the oldest public high school in America for 6 years, and all the stress, mental exhaustion, and all-nighters had finally paid off. I had been to my older brother's graduation in 2004, and the year 2020 was supposed to be my turn to walk across the stage and receive my diploma. Instead, the world had another idea, and Friday, March 13, 2020 would be the last day I stepped into the school building for class. Not only did I miss out on graduation, but also other senior year traditions as well. I didn't get to chant "It's all over" at lunch time, I didn't get to count down last few seconds on the last day of school, and worst of all, I didn't get to say good-bye to all my friends. Even though I'm wearing my cap, gown, and cord in the picture, what I got was still not a graduation. Instead, everyone showed up to school for a drive-thru diploma pickup. That was not what I waited six years for, but I appreciate the BLS faculty's consideration. Now I'm a Freshman at Northeastern University, and things couldn't be better.
• 
  2020

  COVID-19 and its Effect on Physical Activity

  Before the outbreak began I was a three season athlete, training for Cross Country and Track. I ran every day and pushed myself on every workout as a distance runner. Then COVID-19 hit and the country went on lockdown. It was the end of my senior year, and I would be missing my final spring tack season. When it first started I tried to continue to train and do track workouts, but it wasn't the same doing them alone. I didn't have my teammates and friends to motivate and push me through the difficult parts of runs. It became extremely hard to train on my own, and I started to feel myself losing fitness. When the spring season was officially canceled I lost all of my motivation to continue. I started running recreationally, and not every day anymore. Before, I was considering trying out for my college team, but with events canceled and the increased difficulty of running alone, I couldn't keep myself in top racing condition. It is now towards the end of my first semester in college, and while I am still running, I still wonder if i will ever find the motivation to train hard and compete again.
• 
  2020-11-28

  Northeastern NU.in Program

  The NU.in program is a study abroad program by Northeastern University. This year, students had the option to travel to Canada, London, or Ireland. While NU.in Ireland remained a location, the pandemic made it so traveling to Canada or London was no longer possible. Students had an option to either travel to Ireland, Boston, or remain at home. NU.in Boston students were housed in a hotel twenty minutes or so away from campus. While living conditions were pleasant, it was definitely not what many students were expecting from being a part of a study abroad program. Not only were students studying from a place they might not have prepared for, the health restrictions made it difficult for some to meet new people and really familiarize themselves with campus life. The pandemic has really impacted how students work through college. Covid tests are required of in person Northeastern students every three days. While classrooms are open for a limited amount of students, majority of the students are participating online since the teachers are joining the online meetings from home. While these changes are not very drastic, they do take some time to adapt to.
• 2020-03-11

  My COVID Pandemic Experience

  I have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and many new situations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Washington State, there were many people cases of COVID reported before mid-March. For weeks, there was a buzz around my high school about the possibility of us doing online school. As a senior in high school, I was excited to have an extra week of spring break because the senior-itis was starting to kick in. On March 11, 2020, my school announced that we were going to be sent home and get an extra week or two of spring break. Even though they said it was just going to be an extra-long spring break, we brought all of our school work and supplies home in case we were online for a longer time. In the beginning, I remember my friends and I talked about how we would hang out every day and do online school together. We had many ideas of how we would spend the time together by going to coffee shops, and we even considered figuring out a way to all be together in Hawaii. Little did we know that this pandemic was going to be a much larger problem than we had expected. About a week or two into quarantine, we stopped believing that COVID would only affect the elderly, and we learned more about how we could spread the virus. Naturally, my family went into lockdown mode, and we did not see anyone else except for our "germ circle" for months. When Washington went into lockdown, my senior-year activities got canceled. Unlike other high schools, we did not have a traditional homecoming ceremony or football game because we were an all-girls high school. Because we did not have a big homecoming celebration, all of our senior-year traditions were towards the end of the year. The weekend we went into lockdown, we were supposed to have our senior-skip day. I was also supposed to help host a retreat for my school that weekend after preparing for it for months. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a lot of hope that by May, we would have our Senior Class Day assembly, prom, and graduation. As cases, deaths, and hospitalizations grew, these events ended up being virtual. While it was not enjoyable to be missing these events I had been looking forward to, I still managed to find ways to make the most of quarantine. I went to school every day from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon. It was nice having school online because I could do most of my work in class or between classes, so then I could have my afternoons free to talk to my friends or hang out with my family and my dogs. My family got to spend cherished time together during quarantine before I went to college. My family went on a lot of hikes and bathed our dogs a lot. It was easy to stay in touch with my close friends over FaceTime. We spent a lot of time on Netflix Party, and we Face Timed almost every lunch period. We spent many days learning TikTok dances, baking bread, muffins, and pizza, and trying to get our old Nintendo DS to work. As quarantine went on, it became more evident that I would probably not be going abroad for my first semester of college. I was going to go to Dublin, Ireland, but in June, I switched to going to London. Unfortunately, these locations closed, so I ended up going to Boston. I am very grateful that my university opened a program in Boston, so I did not have to do my first semester of college from home. Throughout the summer, I worked on picking classes, trying to meet people online, and packing up my things for college. The idea of going to college gave me something to be excited about, and I was more confident about the chances of my university remaining open. My university put many systems in place, such as getting tested every three days, not allowing indoor dining at first, and having more places to study for social distancing. Besides getting ready for college, during the summer, I spent more time with my friends as restrictions started to be less strict. I self-quarantined for two weeks, and then three of my closest friends and I went to Oregon for the weekend to stay in my friend's family cabin. It was very nice to spend time alone with my friends and still be isolated because we did not go out very much and we only spent time together. I also spent most of my time making cloth masks for my family, friends, and elderly neighbors. It was nice to have a project that made me feel like I was making a difference. During the pandemic, I kept seeing photos and videos of healthcare workers struggling with the lack of PPE and the immense amount of COVID hospitalizations. As a student who is studying to be a nurse, I felt so helpless staying home and not being in a hospital being able to help people. Eventually, the back-to-school season came around, and I got ready to make the cross-country move to Boston. My mom and I packed up all of my things, got our COVID tests, and headed to the east coast. Surprisingly, it felt somewhat safe to travel, and the hotel we stayed in had a lot of safety precautions. When I arrived, I got my COVID test, picked up my ID, and moved into my dorm. Due to all of the restrictions, my mom and I had to say goodbyes outside of my dorm. Then, I was alone in a new city, and it was the start of a strange first semester of college. First, I was living in a hotel in the middle of the city. It was so nice to have such a big room and not share a bathroom with 20 other people, but surprisingly, living in a hotel is not like "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody." Without a way to be able to make food, I always had to go to campus to get food, even if I did not have any in-person classes. I spent a lot of time studying in the library to try and get out of my room, but it was often tiring because I always had to wear a mask and couldn't collaborate with others. I spent a lot of time adjusting to my new life and college classes. While I only took general education courses, it was still an adjustment to taking some fully asynchronous classes and taking rigorous courses after having easier, online high school courses. Despite these challenges, I eventually fell into a routine, and I spent a lot of time exploring Boston. My program put on a lot of socially distanced activities to help us to get to know the city. I went to the aquarium, some museums, and I went on a trip to Cape Cod. All of these activities were experiences I would not have usually considered doing. I also explored the city by myself. I walked the Freedom Trail, went to Cambridge, and went on walks through the green spaces around the city. I loved being in a new city, but this semester was also very lonely. Even though I made a few close friends, it is hard to make new friends while being safe with the COVID restrictions. I tried to have a positive attitude about this situation, but it was often difficult to think about how this first semester of college could have been. It was strange to think that I could have been in a foreign country and traveling to other countries during breaks. I often thought about how there would be more people spending time in each other's rooms and people stopping by each other's rooms if we kept our doors open. I am lucky that I could be on campus in Boston this semester because I got to join a service fraternity called Alpha Phi Omega. Through that pledging process, I got to meet many upperclassmen and other first-year students, and I got to be involved in the Boston community. Now, I am home for the holidays, but I am even more worried about COVID because cases are rising. There is some hope on the horizon with the progress that the vaccines have been making. I am hopeful that my future semesters in college will be better, and I hope that people will continue to be safe and protect each other.
• 
  2020-11-18

  Attending College in Boston During the Pandemic

  I graduated high school in 2020 and decided to attend Northeastern University in Boston, MA. For my first semester I planned on traveling to London to study there through the NU.in program (program offered by Northeastern for alternate admission). Unforuntaly, once COVID ravaged through the world, we were no longer allowed to go to London. Instead, I decided to start my college career as a normal Northeastern student living in Boston. I think this experience is important to share because it gives one insight on what college life is like in a city school. Northeastern has very strict rules for obvious reasons, testing every 2-3 days, limited indoor gatherings, mask mandate on campus and much more. This is the safest way to go about this semester and it has allowed us to stay open, but if does hinder the college experience for students. It can be very hard to make friends in college and then on top of that, there is a pandemic which makes it hard to meet people under normal circumstances. Students voiced their concerns over this and got some rules to change (allowing a single guest per room, opening more meeting spaces, indoor dining etc). The school aspect is also very interesting, I think the majority of kids have 75% of their classes online, meaning learning through a zoom call/recorded video. Although it gets old quickly, learning online is a really good skill because it forced me to start taking learning into my own hands and be more independent with my work. However, I feel like this skill is a skill all college students learn early on in order to pass classes but I think that it was accelerated this semester due to the lessened student-to-teacher interactions. Overall, the experience has been an interesting one; there has been many highlights including exploring Boston and living in a hotel, but there have been lowlights as well, including, harder to be motivated during class, may be harder for some to meet people.
• 
  2020-11-07

  Virtually Adjusting

  COVID has absolutely been a challenge time for everyone and has required patience, flexibility and resiliency. Personally, I had to make room for multiple adjustments during my transition to Northeastern. First semester I was supposed to study abroad, however, was unable to due to the current circumstances. Now, once in Boston I had to continue my studies via Zoom. While I did experience this briefly last spring, it was to a much smaller extent. Currently, I am learning how to balance this transition to a new city and new life with academics and learning how to fully interact with a class virtually. While difficult, it also has taught me many valuable skills that I otherwise would have disregarded. The biggest struggle for me has been cultivating relationships with teachers and peers without being in the same room or even city as them. Additionally, keeping track of assignments, class times and zoom links has been a difficult process that has sometimes caused me to submit a paper after its due date or miss a lesson entirely. However, office hours have been a incredible way to connect with my professors and clarify any questions or issues I may have. Although my experience with COVID has been anything but easy, I have been able to gain some valuable skills and lessons from this event. I now feel more adequately prepared to potentially face any issues I face both virtually and in-person during my time at Northeastern and beyond. The attached photo is from a trip I took to Seaport with a friend and reminds me that although much of my life takes place online, I am in a new city with new friends and still have tons of things to experience and learn.