Being a college student during a global pandemic has had its pros and cons. Since the pandemic began college life changed for students everywhere . In this article you will be able to get a look into the life of a college student during a pandemic. I’m Jasmine Robinson , Marketing Strategist for Grays Peak Strategies and a Spring 2021 College Graduate. My senior year at UNCG included a whole year of restrictions and precautions because of COVID, this affected us in many different ways whether it was financially, mentally, socially and even academically.

Financially for college students, just like many others in the world we also lost jobs. Some students used their jobs to pay for books, housing, food and even their tuition . When the pandemic first started a lot of students including myself had to up and move out from campus housing, any housing provided from the school, this took a toll on a lot of students financially because it was so abrupt. Although financials were affected by this , the University offered financial assistance through the CARES ACT, this was an opportunity students had been given if they were financially affected by the pandemic. To receive a financial reward all you had to do was fill out a short application get approved and you could receive a financial reward. As college students this was a blessing to have access to that, it was great to know the University understood the financial effects .

Mental health is important for everyone , and you should always be aware of your mental state. College is definitely a challenge and an accomplishment but with balancing life, socials, classes, school work, extra cuticular activities, jobs and some even their kids/family students mental health can be affected . With the pandemic many students, had family members, and/ or themselves contracted the virus , some won the fight but unfortunately some lost the fight. This was an additional challenge for students to keep focused on balancing everything that had been going on in life while dealing with the ups and downs of the pandemic. Luckily the University is great at providing resources for mental health assistance, health and education.

Looking at how the pandemic affected college students socially, when the pandemic happened everyday life for the world changed . Having to quarantine, social distance and limit human interaction left a lot of college students lacking the social aspect of college . Although the University did everything they could to provide us programs, entertainment and social events this past school year there are still a lot of traditions and events that I wish I could’ve gone to that either did not happen or happened virtually because of COVID. Luckily being a college senior in my beginning years at UNCG I got to experience the social aspect of being in college . For new freshmen that came into college this past school year they did miss out on a typical freshman year social experience.

Academically, the pandemic affected students' learning experience and overall performance . Classes were moved online for a large portion of last year, this past semester there were hybrid classes added as well. For many students this was the first time they had taken online or hybrid classes. Students have different ways they learn best so for many it was a challenging adjustment that had to be made. Academics were also affected because while some students had COVID or were dealing with others having COVID, we still had to make sure we were keeping up with school and all of our other responsibilities in life. Most professors at the

University were very understanding of all the unique situations that came from the pandemic, with the proper communication to your professor they’d work with your situation the best they’d could. The University also gave different grading options to help students out that struggled academically due to the pandemic.

Although the pandemic had all of these effects on college students many of us were able to graduate during the pandemic. This year’s graduation details were up in the air for the majority of the school year. While many students wanted a physical graduation , we were unsure if it was even possible. Shortly after the second semester of the school year started we learned that graduation would be virtual for all family and friends but they would let all the graduates walk . They also had a lot of events planned around graduation to let students still get to experience graduating in special ways. As the school year got closer to ending, the direction of the pandemic started to take a positive turn and they informed us we’d be able to have an in person graduation with limited guests, social distancing and masks of course! Graduation was also available to be watched live or pre recorded . This was such great news for us college seniors ! With the proper precaution I was able to graduate from UNC Greensboro with both parents present at the ceremony and many family and friends watching live ! Such a great way to end my college experience .

After learning about how college students were affected by the pandemic, you can see we had a lot of similar challenges that many others were facing in the world. Finishing college during a pandemic was not easy but after adjusting and adapting I and many other students around the world was able to leave this pandemic with a degree! Congratulations to all of the 2020 and 2021 Graduates !

Finishing College During a Global Pandemic