COVID-19’S EFFECT ON STUDENTS

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic everyone is struggling to accept the new norms of everyday life, but for 22 year old University of San Francisco student, Emily Regan, current life could not be further than normal.

When the virus was just starting to be taken seriously in the United States and President Trump began talk of a temporary international travel ban, Emily and her friends had just arrived in Amsterdam for spring break.

“My friends and I were staying in a hostel and we woke up one morning to one of their parents calling in a panic that we weren’t going to be able to come home,” she explained. “So we had to sit in the hallway and all try to book flights back while learning that we wouldn’t be going back to school.”

A flight from Amsterdam to New York, which normally takes 8 hours, took her 48 hours with a layover in Russia.

Emily talked about how her friends were all graduating that year and because they live so far away from her hometown she did not know when she would see them again. Because her nursing program is so tight-knit she had spent the last four years in the same classes with these girls.

Leaving San Francisco and adjusting back to life in New Jersey was tough enough for Emily without having to be quarantined inside. She spoke about how she craved the energy of her college town and was struggling to find normalcy in NJ by staying as active as possible.

Since she is still taking classes online in California, she is finding the time change extremely difficult. Her night class, which normally began at 6:30 p.m., is now from 9:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and she said she struggles to stay awake during it. She also expressed grievances with the fact that she is not able to do her clinicals, which are needed to receive her degree in nursing.

“I am grateful that I was able to come home during this crisis,” she expressed. “Many of my friends are on lockdown in San Francisco and are having a hard time getting food and supplies. Thankfully I have a loving family, access to shelter and food and am able to stay safe.”