Students Reflect on how the Covid Pandemic Impacted their Education

 by Enmanuel Sori

College students throughout 2020 and 2021 were struggling with balancing mental health and providing quality work during such a rough adaptation and transitional period.

 2020 was a rough year for everyone as a result of the COVID-19. 2021 wasn’t much better as the extent and destruction of the virus was becoming more dangerous. Education was a sector that suffered huge losses and restrictions. Losses in the form of students dropping out due to many factors, and restrictions placed on in person meetings. Online meetings and Zoom became the new norm for interactions. But it wasn’t beneficial to everyone.

 Nargely De La Rosa, a senior at CUNY Lehman College, had a profoundly different experience. He said “My quality of education actually went up. I didn’t like having to physically show up to school and being online made my schedule more flexible which catered to me. This flexibility allowed me to study and submit my assignments in a timely manner. Something that was previously an issue due to struggles with my work-life balance.”

 Rancel Fermin, a senior at Cornell University says “Yes, my quality of education went down as a result of not being on campus and having to submit work remotely. Time management became even more crucial during this time as you couldn’t rely on professors holding you as accountable anymore due to not being in a physical classroom setting. Having to return home as a result of things shutting down on campus altered my college experience in a way which previous generations did not live through.”

These interviews provided us with insight into the two polar ends of the spectrum and the students associated with it. On an interesting note, many students will end up leaning more towards one side although not to such polar ends in most cases. Hearing from current college students who went through this also provided us with context into certain factors that could influence individual experiences during such a historical period in modern history.