by Evan Joseph ’23

Due to the outbreak of Covid-19 many people have been affected heavily in several different ways and have been deprived of many important life-changing experiences. One of the major consequences of this quarantine has been on students of all ages attending all different levels of school. For college freshmen around the country, the switch to online classes and finals has not been so kind as they are missing out not only on their first year of college courses but also the life-lasting memories that come along with it. 

Sherwood 2019 graduates Elissa Joseph and Gili Chazoom have been home in Olney since early March and are now finishing their freshmen finals from their bedrooms. I asked them about multiple things they miss and how this quarantine has deprived them of an authentic college experience.

“It has been hard for me to switch from living in a dorm surrounded by my friends, to coming home where I have to self-quarantine. I am still in contact with my closest friends from college, but since classes and clubs have all gone virtual, I don’t get to see a lot of the people who I used to see frequently,” said Joseph.   “Now, I rely on social media to see what my friends are up to.” 

Although their social lives have been greatly impacted, that is not the only negative that has come from being home from  college in quarantine. “My grades have gone down a bit,” said Chazoom“I go to Loyola New Orleans and they also do a pass/fail option but I wanted to see my letter grades. At school I usually get A’s and B’s and now I’m mostly getting B’s and C’s because I don’t feel motivated at all.” A The fears of technical difficulties or human error by their professors loom every day. Also, knowing they are the first Freshman Class to ever go through something like this also doesn’t help. On top of all that, the distance from all their new friends has taken away a large amount of the motivation that keeps them pushing forward.

If this were to ever happen again there would have to be many changes made and precautions taken to really give the students the best experience possible. “I wish things had been less rushed,” said Joseph. “Professors and students had to scramble to adjust their plans for the semester, and while my professors have mostly been very accommodating, there have been so many troubles with online learning that I believe could have been prevented.” Chazoom added, “I think they should plan it better as in informing the professors and staff what to do because a lot of my professors don’t know how to transfer their classes online, so it’s been a struggle getting and doing the work from them.”