Dionte Berry
Contributing Writer
[email protected]

Students have had to adjust from the bustling of college life to the mundaneness of online classes and social distancing.

Junior nursing major Ellie Burns found the transition to online classes to be difficult.

“I’m a hands-on learner and I prefer paper and pencil tests, so this change has been a challenge,” Burns said. 

Nursing is a hands-on field, but Burns’ professors have been compensating for the lack of in-person classes.

“We have nursing labs and the labs themselves have been moved online,” Burns said. “My professor is allowing us to submit videos of us doing our physical assessments, and they provide a grade and feedback.”

Despite the struggles of moving online, Burns is happy the transition was made because it shows that the school cares about its students’ well-being. 

“I’m glad President Jackson is looking out for our safety,” Burns said. “I agree with the decision even though I despise being online.”

 A part of Burns’ struggle with online classes is the lack of nailing down a new routine. 

“I have zero routines, and while on campus I had one, so this has been a significant struggle to get back into the habit of things in the comfort of my home,” Burns said. 

Beyond her online classes, Burns has been keeping busy by reading and spending time outside.

The transition to online classes came easier for  senior psychology major, Alyssa Crum, because she has taken online classes before.

“I have done a full semester of school online before, so I am used to the workload,” Crum said. “It has been different though since classes were stopped rather abruptly.” 

Beyond classes, Crum has been working.

“I work at a girls’ group home and a boys’ group home for behaviorally challenged kids with the Stepstone Family and Youth Services,” Crum said. 

Crum works full time at both homes and said quarantine has been quite the change for the kids in the home.

“My kids are going a little stir-crazy with being at home all the time,” Crum said. “Their one place to express themselves freely is school, so we try to involve them in other activities without exposing them to COVID-19.”

Crum said her job is emotionally, mentally and physically taxing, but she doesn’t let that stop her from finding joy in working with kids. 

“I enjoy working with them through their daily challenges and applying what all I have learned as a budding psychologist in real-life situations,” Crum said. 

In addition to work, Crum has been training her two-year-old pitbull dalmatian mix, Echo, to become a therapy dog.

“I believe that he has the abilities to make a great therapy dog for geriatrics and children’s hospitals,” Crum said.

After COVID-19 passes, she plans to have Echo take the Canine Good Citizen test for him to be certified as a therapy dog.

When she isn’t at work or training her dog, she is enjoying home life and keeping herself busy.

“I have been reading, baking, cooking new recipes, making puzzles, watching documentaries on Netflix, being with my family and cleaning up and organizing,” Crum said. 

Although Crum has transitioned well to online school and social distancing, she is eager to continue her normal life.