Chapter 4
Melody Hagan
In the beginning of 2020, I, as well as many other students, had an idea of what my final semesters of college would be like and all I wanted to accomplish as I approached the finish line of completing my associate degree. Soon after we began school, I heard of a new virus overseas causing for people to succumb to flu like symptoms. I had no idea the gravity of the situation and how this virus was going to change the way that we function and approach everything as a country. When the impact of coronavirus began to first set in, we thought the main focus would be to avoid catching the virus, but instead it was much more serious than that. The pandemic began a ripple effect that not only impacted our home life, but our workplace and school environment. Schools closed until further notice, leading to the transition of virtual learning, online tutoring, and digital course books and assignments. Not only is this a first time for our students, but even the most seasoned of our professors found it difficult to change their entire teaching methods to conform to an online platform. I learned that we have to do our best with any situation we’re placed in to make sure that we still accomplish our goals. For example, I looked forward to graduation day and walking across the stage in my cap and gown, like so many other students, but due to the virus a large gathering for a ceremony is completely out of the question. Due to this happening, many students were creating their own graduation photoshoots and graduation ceremonies were held virtually for students to still receive a graduation experience while also sharing the moment with close friends and family members all over the world. This shows we can not only be creative but also show various forms of resilience when we have to push past hard times. Although the last few semesters have been extremely stressful and chaotic, I am so thankful that we were able to still push through with new leaning methods that still built an effective system of learning and grasping new information.
I hope that moving forward we can take steps towards most classes being available on campus again so face to face interaction with students and professors can take place on a full-time basis again. I personally find it easier to learn and understand information when the teacher is speaking directly to me and writing demonstrations on a whiteboard. Moving forward, any precautions or safety measures that are added as a part of our new campus rules should be accepted by all students as this is a means to keep us all safe and learning. From this day forward, people from all walks of life will appreciate being to freely learn and work. Quarantine made us aware of how many privileges we have and all we have to do to depend on each other.