“The unprecedented shift to remote learning took me by surprise, like it did for many of my peers. Personally, as a student, I learn and understand the material better when I can speak to my professors either in person during their office hours, or in class, so not having the option to do that, for new material that was introduced during remote learning, was difficult. Despite the challenges, however,I have grown to appreciate the increasing demands that educators have had to negotiate, to completely rework their lesson plans and teaching interactions due to COVID-19.
The important lesson/takeaway that I have learned, from this experience, is the ability to adapt during an uncertain time. We have all had to change our typical routines, in some way.
I, for one, had to adjust to remote learning by establishing a schedule and teaching myself a lot of the material that may not be covered by the video calls with my professors.
I live in Massachusetts. The stay-at-home order was enforced in late March 2020, allowing me and my family some time to plan and adjust to this new change. There have been days where I have felt extremely unmotivated and overwhelmed, given the current state of our world, but having the support of my family has given me the extra strength to continue and finish the semester strong.
Resuming classes from the comfort of my home was not ideal. Despite being in the safe haven of my home, I felt more overwhelmed by assignments here than I have back at school. Because of all of the Coronavirus hysteria and depressing news, I have remained sane by creating a schedule for homework and leisure. Having a schedule keeps me on track while still having time to do the activities that make me happy such as baking and watching movies.
COVID-19 has drastically changed my life and the lives of many others; however, I have adapted to the change with a newfound respect for the normalcy that we need and crave. We have had to adjust and adapt to new ways of quarantine life. We've discovered that small things require new sources of strength.
As a student, doing coursework or other things at home seem like huge achievements. I took social interactions for granted and now this has taught me to appreciate being with others.”
~~ Skaina Pierre. Interviewed by Yamilet Marquez (Class of '23).
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