Diana A.
COLLEGE: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign- Freshman
MAJOR: Journalism
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: The virus has forced the campus newspaper editors, including myself, to transition all content and all meetings to being online. We can no longer produce a physical newspaper, so that has been a huge difference in my work life. As far as my personal life, my study abroad to Paris and London got canceled, which is incredibly disappointing, considering it’s one of the things that has gotten me through this year. My freshman year of college got cut short; we had to move out of our dorms this week. I feel as though the rug got pulled from right under my feet.
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: My schooling is all online. My professors are scrambling to find ways to make in-person assignments and tests be plausible online. I feel super anxious about everything that’s going on, but I know that everyone else around me is in the same position. I think we will get through the rest of the semester okay, and all will pass with time.
OVERALL OPINION: I think it’s a bit surreal to be living through a pandemic and a soon-to-be economic recession. My generation has never encountered anything like this. I think that we have to stick together as a society and follow the guidelines we are told in order to flatten the curve.
Brooke K.
COLLEGE: University of Wisconsin Oshkosh- Junior
MAJOR: Elementary Education
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: Due to COVID-19, I have had to learn to communicate differently. I have been socially distancing myself, and have not been able to hang out with my friends/partner. Because of this virus, I have not left my house as much, and have been on social media much more than usual. In terms of work, I am an RA at my university. We were told to go home. Because of that, I am no longer working, and am not getting paid.
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: First, my university extended spring break by one week. We were told that we would have approximately 1 week of online classes starting March 30th. Then, we were informed that our classes would be online for the rest of the semester (through June 5th). Because of this, I had to leave my friends, and the job that I love.
OVERALL OPINION: I think that a LOT of people are not social distancing and are continuing to go out in public. Personally, I wish that President Trump would have put our country on national lockdown. If people are not social distancing themselves, I don’t think that this is going to get any better. I would rather quarantine myself for 2 weeks than 2 months
Jayme B.
COLLEGE: Southern Illinois university- Junior
MAJOR: Mortuary science and Funeral Services
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: I can no longer attend my bowling league, and as a server it took away my ability to work for dine in.
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: It isn’t letting me go to labs that are vital for me to learn certain information for my boards
OVERALL OPINION: It’s scaring a lot of people but over all at least that is making people more inclined to listen to the professionals to stay inside. The biggest worry is that hospitals are gonna get overcrowded and that they aren’t going to have enough ventilators for everyone who needs them. This one of the many they are preaching social distancing and setting stay at home orders for multiple counties and states now
Gabby H.
COLLEGE: UW-Parkside- Junior
MAJOR: Communications
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: I am currently unable to work and may need to file for unemployment according to my employer
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: With everything being online it’s going to be difficult to find structure and create my own schedule which is pretty difficult for me
OVERALL OPINION: I think everyone could be a little more cautious and use common sense to keep themselves safe and healthy but since we cannot rely solely on that, I think it’s a good thing that so many places are closing everywhere and trying to prevent this from spreading even more
Mariah L.
COLLEGE: Northern Illinois University- Senior
MAJOR: Biological sciences, minoring in Chemistry and Psychology
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: I currently do not have a job because of the virus and have left my school’s city to go back home to help ease the financial strain
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: COVID-19 has turned my last semester into something I’ve never imagined. I never got to say goodbyes to my friends or experience all of my lasts on campus. Being involved in Greek life, a lot of spring activities are involved in sending the seniors off and not having that has made a lot of us feel lost and upset about what’s going on. None of us are really sure what to do next or how to deal with the possibility of never seeing some friends again. My graduation has been postponed which is better than canceled as many other universities have. It’s upsetting because as a first generation student this is a huge milestone in my life and the fact that I might not be in Illinois because of a job is upsetting.
OVERALL OPINION: I think that the majority of people fit into two categories: the panickers and the careless. i fit in the middle where i am cautious but will not freak out unless necessary. my town is in a stay at home measure and as much as it sucks, the majority of younger people would still be going out and spreading the virus
Emma M.
COLLEGE: Troy University in Troy, Alabama. -Junior
MAJOR: Biomedical Sciences, minoring in Criminal Justice.
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: Personally, switching to online classes has been crazy. As a science major, most of my classes are hands-on labs. Sitting at my computer at home has called for a drastic change in mentality. At home I normally relax and at school I work hard. Being patient and regarding other people’s health over my own is an important lesson in the health field!
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: School is my job at the moment and my personal life also revolves around school. Being from Illinois and going away to Alabama for school, I wasn’t able to go home like most of my friends/roommates. But same as before, I need to change my mentality to home also being school
OVERALL OPINION: What is your overall opinion on how the Corona Virus is affecting your community/the world? I’m having a hard time knowing how serious it is. It’s slowly sinking in that we didn’t do enough soon enough. At the moment, I’m more worried about my grandparents back home, and my older professors. I want to have a peace of mind knowing that me staying home keeps others that I care about, safe.
Michaela I.
COLLEGE: Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota- Fourth year student
MAJOR: Bachelor of Science Nursing
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: Since the University I’m attending has been canceled my family asked me to come home to spend quarantine with them so they know I’m safe which leaves me with issues such as I am currently trying to pay rent for an apartment I’m not even staying at.
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: Due to COVID-19 Winona State has canceled all face-to-face contact and has gone completely online for classes, labs, simulations, and meetings. On top of that all hospitals that Winona State uses as their clinical experience for students have removed students from practicing under them for the time being until it is deemed safe. This has caused many complications as a nursing student who relies entirely on clinical hours in the field to learn and complete requirements for the semester. As of now no one appears to have any answers on how the hours required will be fulfilled.
OVERALL OPINION: While the virus itself is bad I feel it strongly is being influenced by social media. There is a lot of both unnecessary and necessary panic but it’s hard to separate which is which during this time and more news coming out every minute. The panic is affecting health care in the sense that masks and other equipment that is necessary to keep the workers safe are being bought and stolen from the hospitals by those who are worried. This virus is also largely affecting those with mental health which causes a whole other issue we need to focus on. With people getting laid off their job, and a fear of the unknown we see mental health and suicide rates on the rise.
Kelly B.
COLLEGE: Indiana State University -Sophomore
MAJOR: Psychology
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: I actually lost my job due to the Corona Virus, I’m an RA at my university so when the dorms closed down I was out of a job for the rest of the semester… Reslife tried to be as helpful as they could but without getting a paycheck from them it’s not very great :(
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: I’m in online school now till August! I don’t think it will be too bad because I mainly just had lecture classes, so it’s just taking notes from a posted PowerPoint or calling into class and taking notes. But if I had any lab classes, I know the online school would be absolutely terrible.
OVERALL OPINION: I think it’s something that needs to be taken seriously so I am glad that so many states are requiring people to stay in and so many schools are trying to protect their students, but it’s sad to have to miss out on school events or things with my friends.
Anonymous
COLLEGE: Western Michigan University- Freshman
MAJOR: Elementary education
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: My personal life and work life have changed a lot since the spread of the virus. I have not been able to go out as much, hanging out with friends, going to the store, all of those things have not happened.
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: For school we switched to all online classes and while it has been challenging it is manageable.
OVERALL OPINION: Overall I know we are trying to keep the virus from spreading but it has severely limited people all over the country, it is putting businesses at risk and causing others to go hungry, it is a terrible thing and I hope we as a country can fix this problem soon.
Haley A.
COLLEGE: College of Lake County
MAJOR: Legal Studies
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: My company is not open, so I don’t have to work for 2 weeks but it sucks because as much as I want to hang out with my friends and go out to the bars and go do stuff we can’t because everything is closed.
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: I think the Corona Virus is going to keep my school closed for the rest of the year. And move to online classes. Which isn’t bad if you have one or two but having 5+ classes online is a lot to handle, and very stressful. It’s also hard to find the motivation to do so much work online. And I’m afraid I’m not going to be getting everything out of the class that I wanted to. Because as much as it sucks, face to face in class time is really valuable to me and it helps me succeed in my classes.
OVERALL OPINION: As much as I think this is getting out of proportion compared to other dangerous illnesses that have spread around- I think it is necessary to take these precautions and be prepared for when/ if it does get worse. At first everyone laughed about it but now it’s starting to get serious and it’s kind of crazy. we need to get it under control before it gets worse and impacts us for months to come. I just think it’s crazy that we are living through something like this- it’s all kind of hard to wrap my head around especially because no one TRULY knows the truth about this shit.
Ashley M.
COLLEGE: Independence University in Florida -Junior
MAJOR: Graphic Design
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: The Corona Virus has affected my work life tremendously because I’m a hostess at a Yacht and Country Club. We currently do take out now but eventually we’ve been told it will get shut down, but if that happens I’m a bit worried because I have to pay my bills. My employers have scattered us around in different positions since all of our events are canceled, no dining in, golf courses are closed, and no pool service. So most of us either don’t have that much hours or just don’t have any hours at all, they’re having people work doubles even though it’s really dead at times where we’re just sitting around doing nothing. It has also affected me personally because I like to workout but all the gyms are closed, I do workouts at home but unfortunately it’s not really good enough I guess you could say. Also, I just don’t like sitting at home all day doing nothing because I feel like I’m not being active.
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: Unfortunately this Corona Virus has affected me in a negative way in school because not only do I have to worry about having to work doubles to be able to pay my bills, but I always go to the library to do homework because it’s very distracting. I live with my boyfriend and he’s always playing video games or having friends over so it never motivates me to do my homework unless I leave my apartment but there’s nowhere to go so now I’m struggling.
OVERALL OPINION: I think the Corona Virus is majorly affecting the economy because people are not working and since they are not working that will cause problems in the next year for the economy to pick back up. Also, hospitals have been overly full because of this virus but there are other people that are in need of help as well because they have some other sickness or are injured. In my opinion, I think some people are overreacting in this situation. For example, people are over stocking on toilet paper. The other day this older lady that lives next door said she doesn’t have enough toilet paper and can never find any. There are people buying rubbing alcohol to make hand sanitizer and this lady couldn’t find any either but she needs it for her husband, he needs it for his wounds. I felt bad and wished I had rubbed alcohol to give her and she said she didn’t want my toilet paper, but to let her know if I can find any toilet paper in any stores.
Anonymous
COLLEGE: Bradley University -Junior
MAJOR: Heath Science and Psychology major
HOW HAS THE CORONA VIRUS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL/WORK LIFE?: One big impact on my personal life is all 6 of me and my family members are now home all day. My 3 brothers are doing classes online and both my parents are working from home. This has resulted in a lot going on each day throughout the house with everyone doing something as well as supplying food for a family of 6 all day, especially when my parents are used to only have 4 people home and mostly only for dinner.
WHAT EFFECT HAS THE CORONA VIRUS HAD ON YOUR SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?: I am in the process of applying to graduate school and face-to-face meetings with various faculty members have been a big impact in my application process, going online makes it more difficult for communication and preparation. It also will be a big adjustment for all classes to go online. Many of my courses have a lot of engagement during the period and it is going to be a very different and more self paced setting going forward.
OVERALL OPINION: I don’t think people are taking this as seriously as they should. Many people think that the world is overreacting and taking too many precautions, but fail to realize what happened in other countries that did not take action sooner. Even when told to keep distance from others, many are not doing that. If everyone would follow the precautions and limitations the various states have set, and the president, the spread of the virus will be reduced and the world can slowly start returning to normal.