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  2020-03-23

  Working an Internship During a Pandemic

  I do not think anyone could have imagined that we would find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic only three months into the year 2020. But everyone remembers where they were when they found out the world was turned upside down. For me, it was only two months into my first co-op experience. I was working at a construction management company just outside of Boston, MA. I was living in on-campus housing and was the only one in my suite there at the time because my roommates were home on Spring Break. I knew something was up when they extended the break and later told everyone that they had to move out. Panicked and not wanting to commute an hour and a half from my home in New Hampshire to my co-op, I applied to my school to allow me to stay. I was approved and was able to live in my six-person suite by myself. Then, less than a week later, I was told I needed to move out regardless of applying to stay because the coronavirus was spreading even more. I was also told I needed to be out of the dorms in less than 48 hours. My employer was great about it though, and very understanding. The next day, the Mayor of Boston shut down construction in the city and my co-workers began to start working from home. Soon, I was told I needed to work from home too. I had gone from sitting in on meetings to logging on. I saw some of my co-workers get furloughed while I was still working because they could pay me less. While I was losing the hands-on aspect and in-person contact experience that I was previously getting, I was now learning how to communicate with people in a different way, which included a lot of emails. Overall, while it was not the ideal first co-op experience, I still was able to learn a lot and gained invaluable experience all while living through a global pandemic.