Introduction to Interview:

On Friday, March 13th, 2020 millions of students across the United States learned that their schooling would switch to an online format, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Many thought it was temporary, an extra week or two added to their spring break. No one could tell that this viral infection would turn into a year-long and counting pandemic. Although it is hard to prove, many scientists believe the virus was first spread to humans at an open-air market from bats in Wuhan, China in late 2019. The virus quickly made its way across the globe, although we did not know it at the time. Although the virus was present in countries abroad, many Americans did not believe it would impact their way of life as much as it has. On March 12th, it seemed as if the pandemic was just a virus that was “practically like the flu” that was only a risk to the older populations. However, on March 13th everyone across the country was told to stay at home to “stop the spread”.  

Today, thirteen months into this pandemic, the virus has changed nearly every aspect of our lives. Especially, one of the most important pillars in our society: education. Over the course of one weekend, schools across the country were forced to close their doors and open their laptops and begin a completely virtual learning experience. Teachers and students across the country felt overwhelmed, underprepared, isolated, and everything in-between as the pandemic took over every part of their lives. As the COVID-19 Vaccine begins its rollout, teachers and students alike have begun to reflect on how the Pandemic has changed education in the United States both temporarily and on a long-term basis.

This interview with SD, a freshman at James Madison University during the pandemic reflects on her experiences as a student during the pandemic. She explains what has surprised her, frustrated her, and how she has been able to find a connection during this time of isolation.

Biography:

I completed this interview with SD when we were both freshmen at James Madison University (JMU) in the year 2021, the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. SD has a bubbly, outgoing, and kind personality. She is an extrovert, who has struggled to balance her social life while following all COVID safety protocols.  She is an in-state first year at the University who has been very diligent in following the Stop The Spread Agreement that was put out by the University. In this interview, we discuss her experiences graduating from high school, the summer before starting college, and her experiences as a first-year student, in the midst of a global pandemic at James Madison University.

Citation: 

Interview with SD, From a Senior in High School to a Freshman in College During the COVID-19 Pandemic. History 150H Spring 2021, Conducted by Catherine Ahnen, March 14th, 2021.

Catherine Ahnen 0:01
All righty, we are recording.

SD 0:03
Okay.

Catherine Ahnen 0:04
Okay, how are you?

SD 0:05
I’m feeling great. How are you?

Catherine Ahnen 0:06
I’m good. Um, so I guess I’ll just ask you some questions about your experience with the Covid-19 pandemic being like a senior in high school and then kind of transitioning into college. So are there any thoughts or feelings that kind of first come to mind when I say the date, March 13th 2020?

SD 0:28
Yeah, definitely. That was my last day of high school. It was also my last day of my job. I worked at a grocery store. And, they obviously stood up, and they were essential businesses, but my parents weren’t comfortable with me working. And I obviously didn’t want to, like overstep any boundaries. It is their house I was living in so I didn’t want to overstep or anything. And for school, I just remember it was that that same day, I had a teacher and she was like, “This isn’t a big deal. I’ll see you guys in two weeks. Like you guys are overreacting. Yeah, it’s not a big deal”. And I was like, “Okay, like, Sure, sure”. But clearly it was!

Catherine Ahnen 1:03
Yeah, so did you, did you think it was gonna last long? Or did you have like, any sense of like, this is gonna be a long time. Do you think it was not going to last long? What were your kind of thoughts?

SD 1:14
Um, honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect. Um, My sister was like, studying abroad at the time, my parents were in Florida, I was home alone. And so I was just kind of like dealing with it all on my own. And like, I didn’t wanna freak my parents out or anything, but they were always like, “Can you go to the grocery store for us, we need a few things?” And I went in there was like, no toilet paper. And I was like, “Huh!” and there was like no disinfectant wipes, and I was like, this is a little strange.

Catherine Ahnen 1:35
Yeah.

SD 1:36
So in the beginning, it was kind of like, everyone’s really freaking out. Like, I wonder how big this is gonna be. And I didn’t really know what it was or like, how it was gonna last or anything like that. Yeah, I didn’t really have a clue.

Catherine Ahnen 1:46
Yeah. Um, so you said that was your last day of school? What did your school kind of do in response?

SD 1:52
That’s funny. Um, so my school, they for seniors just canceled school. So I had no school from March until I started college in August.

Catherine Ahnen 2:02
I love that!

SD 2:03
Yeah, but everyone likes so that’s the for senior privilege because we got graduation, like kind of taken away. It was a weird form. And then like a few things like school, I still had AP exams, though. So my teacher stopped teaching that was the only issue for me.

Catherine Ahnen 2:15
Oh no!

SD 2:16
I still pass one of them. I also passed by like, I didn’t get like the score I needed to like place out of stuff here. So I’m taking stats this semester, but my school just kind of was like, “Okay, you’re done”.

Catherine Ahnen 2:27
So did they do anything else for the senior class, I guess?

SD 2:30
Um, so we did have a virtual graduation. It was like they put the YouTube video together of your picture. And then we also had, this was actually really cool. We had a raceway graduation, where I drove my car on there from Richmond. Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, Richmond Raceway, okay. And like the teachers were lighting it and they were all like, socially distant, and they’re like, waving at us and like jumping up and down. It’s fun. It was really, really, cute, yeah. So they did try to make it special for us. And I actually got this in your Impact Award, which a few seniors get every year and they came to my principal came to my house and like all of the administration was in my yard. And like whole speech written about me and I started crying. I was my front porch. And I was like, this is the best moment of my life. Like, they made it feel special for us.

Catherine Ahnen 3:11
So that’s great. Um, so moving on to the summer? Um, did you, How are you feeling about the pandemic? Did you ever like question, you know, should I be going to school in person? What was your thoughts?

SD 3:25
So I have a high risk family member, so I kind of handled the pandemic a lot differently than a lot of my friends. So I wasn’t really thinking about school very much more of like, the relationships that I have with people. And I honestly, like I lost a lot of friendships because I wasn’t going to people’s houses, I wasn’t doing anything indoors. I wasn’t seeing people. So it was actually really, really hard for me to just like, live my life. I’m very extroverted. And so it’s just very hard for me to, I wanted to respect my parents wishes, and I did, but it was just very hard for me to, like, get used to that.

Catherine Ahnen 3:57
Absolutely. So freshman year, um, walk me through, like kind of your feelings. Did you? How did you feel kind of during the pandemic while you were on campus? Did you feel safe? You know, what did you think of JMU’s response? Walk me through those first two weeks. We’ll get to what happens after in a second.

SD 4:16
Yeah, the first two weeks. I’m so if I’m being completely honest, I was incredibly overwhelmed. I wasn’t even going to grocery stores at home. And so being put in a building where there’s like, 40 people on my floor alone, I was just like, Oh my gosh, there’s so many people. In my FROG [First Year Orientation Guide] group. We were like in a group of 30 and I was like, this is the most people I’ve seen in months and I got so anxious and my anxiety was so high you know how to react. I was like, never get together get closer so we can all hear each other and I was like, I have to get closest person like that’s closer than six feet. Like Yeah, I was kind of panicking. I was like, What do I do? So that was an adjustment. But honestly, I really did enjoy being here on campus because at home I couldn’t see anyone. And then suddenly I had like people in my room and I was like this like, this is the weirdest feeling to me, but it was like my extrovert was coming back. And, like, these are people like, I’m so excited. Yeah, I really enjoyed it.

Catherine Ahnen 5:08
So then we got sent home[An influx of cases on the Univesity caused JMUto. transition to an online learning format for four weeks]! So, I guess what were your feelings? Did you have any feelings towards JMU? Um, you know, did you agree with the decision? And did you stay?

SD 5:22
Okay, so I didn’t stay, I did go home for the four weeks. I was a little bitter with JMU. I was my I was just beginning to get like a routine down. I was finding food that I liked. I was getting to like, eat people I didn’t know I was like, having a really like good time. And then we just get an email. I was like, I was taking a class in the library, and I can email us and you guys are gonna be sent home like you leave in like a few days. And I was like, a few days? Like, what? So I was a little upset about the short notice I was upset about the fact that they were handling COVID so poorly. Like, I feel like social distancing wasn’t a thing. I had one person class. And I was shoulder to shoulder with someone else. I just felt really uncomfortable because people weren’t wearing their mask correctly. Like, it was a lot of like anxiety for no reason I feel like.

Catherine Ahnen 6:03
Yeah.

SD 6:04
And so I wasn’t really the happiest with JMU. But, being at home, it wasn’t the worst. I was feeling a little bit homesick. I think it helped with that.

Catherine Ahnen 6:10
Yeah,

SD 6:11
So when I got home, or sent back to school again. I was better and like more prepared.

Catherine Ahnen 6:15
Yeah, definitely. Um, so so you went home. Do you have any thoughts about kind of the social aspect of school during those four weeks? Did you feel connected to the university? Disconnected? Stuff like that?

SD 6:28
So I actually did I started from pledging, or sorry, rushing my sorority that I’m currently initiated in . And so I had little social moments like that over zoom. And honestly, I love zoom recruitment. Yeah, I’m for the sorority, like, I got to talk to a new person, like every 10 minutes. And I also joined a club called Build Your Village. And it wasn’t really a club, it was more of like a thing done by a professor I think JMU, Maybe it was JMU at UVA. And she was like, all about like, getting connected through the pandemic. And she chose students that were sent home to talk to and we would meet on Mondays for about an hour. And that was really like nice to get to know people.

Catherine Ahnen 7:08
Yeah.

SD 7:09
So I had ways to stay connected. And then when I did come back, I didn’t feel like I missed anything. Because I had people to meet when I came back.

Catherine Ahnen 7:17
That’s good. Yeah. So how have online classes been for you? Do you struggle with them? Do you like them?

SD 7:23
Personally, I enjoy them. But also, I’m a little bit worried because everything has been open note. And everything has been “use any resources you want”. And so I’m worried that when we do go back to like, in person classes, and everything’s closed book, I’m not gonna know how to study. I’m not going to know how to prepare.

Catherine Ahnen 7:39
Yeah.

SD 7:40
So I’m just like, I haven’t joined it just put the flexibility. Like, I can go take classes wherever I want. The people want to go with my boyfriend for a weekend. If I want to go home for a weekend, and just stay for a few extra days. I can do that. Yeah. But I just I’m still unsure about it.

Catherine Ahnen 7:54
Yeah. So So I guess you don’t mind Exactly living on campus, but like kind of taking online classes as well?

SD 8:01
I honestly, I think I’m okay with it. And it wouldn’t be too bad. I might actually even have the opportunity to sign up for an online class again. But I sort of like I’m learning as much. I feel like it’s just a lot of like, “Here’s your exam. Here’s the notes. Here’s how you learn to take the exam with your notes”.

Catherine Ahnen 8:16
Yeah, yeah, I get that. So next semester, sophomore year, do you have any hopes or expectations about what it will look like? Um, You know, do you think it’ll be similar, different? Do you think it’ll be completely back to normal? I’m interested to know your thoughts.

SD 8:34
So I actually am living on campus again next year. So I’m really hoping back to normal. I would love to have visitors in my room. And I would love to not wear a mask everywhere. But if I’m being completely honest, While Biden does say that we’re gonna have vaccines available to everyone, if they’re eighteen and up by May 1st, while that’s the case, I’m not sure when we’re actually going to want the vaccine. I’m not sure how the university is gonna respond based on how they responded previously. I would say I wouldn’t be shocked if there are masks again, but I would hope for more in-person classes.

Catherine Ahnen 9:07
Yeah, very interesting. Well, that’s all my questions. Thank you so much.

SD 9:11
Yeah, Of course.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Research: 

To contextualize SD’s experience, I reflected back on my own experiences. Because we are the same age, we were both experiencing the pandemic in two different parts of the country. It was extremely interesting to compare and contrast our experiences during the same global pandemic. I also primarily used personal narratives of people who are also my age to understand their emotions and. feelings regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Bibliography:

Chung, Nadia. “Two Perspectives on Being a High School Senior during the Pandemic.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2020, highschool.latimes.com/la-canada-high-school/two-perspectives-on-being-a-high-school-senior-during-the-pandemic/.

Hall, Ariel. “How to Be a College Freshman During a Pandemic.” Voice of America, VOA, 2020, www.voanews.com/student-union/how-be-college-freshman-during-pandemic.

Ryssdal, Kai. “The Pandemic as Seen by a High-School Senior and His Older Brother.” Marketplace, Marketplace, 19 Feb. 2021, www.marketplace.org/2021/02/17/the-pandemic-as-seen-by-a-high-school-senior-and-his-older-brother/.

Follow Up Commentary: 

After I shared the final transcript with SD, we discussed our hopes for what next semester and post covid will look like at the university. We both hope and expect a larger selection of in-person classes with fewer limits on the number of people allowed in a group together. We still expect to be required to wear masks, although neither of us mind having to wear them. Because of the rollout of the vaccine, we both expect the majority of students and faculty members to be vaccinated by the fall semester. Although life won’t fully return to normal in just a few short months we both hope that Virginia and JMU will lift restrictions due to. the vaccine rollout so we might feel a greater sense of ease when walking around campus.

Transcription Process: 

Because SD and I live in the same dorm, in the same hall, we conducted this interview in person, with masks on. I used the Voice Memos app on the iPhone. I found the transcription process relatively easy. However, we are both young girls who often use filler words such as “like” “um” and “so”. I debated whether I should keep them in or take them out, however, I decided to keep them in because I think it adds to the youthful aspect of the interview. It highlights the fact that we are both still college students, who are doing the best they can in environment of COVID-19. Besides this, I thought the transcription process was very easy.