The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in some way throughout the country. Doctors are working longer hours, restaurant owners are being forced to shut down, teachers are reworking lesson plans and students are adjusting to virtual learning.
Schools across the country have been put online and students are faced with learning in a new and unexpected way.
Cabrini University went completely virtual at the end of the 2020 spring semester. This fall semester has been hybrid style with a majority of classes online while some teachers still gave the opportunity to meet in person, socially distant and masked.
Mary Scafidi, senior criminology and sociology major, said, “I learn a lot better when I’m in a classroom environment because it really can be hard to stay motivated when you’re doing all of school in your bedroom.” Scafidi also is taking a fully asynchronous class this semester which requires her to really self motivate herself and have a routine.
Although motivation has decreased, Scafidi still feels she has been able to handle the workload and turn assignments in on time. She added, “What I miss the most is that face-to-face connection you have with classmates while you’re in the classroom.” Instead, she is doing work alone a lot more.
This semester Scafidi has also been looking for an internship, which has been hard for her to find. Criminology and sociology internships are very hands-on including going to court houses and being at police departments. With COVID-19, most of these places are not looking for interns and the few that are are all remote positions.
Scafidi is also on the CAP Board and she expressed that planning events has become a lot harder this semester. She said, “With everything going on it’s harder to get students to want to do things and not a lot of people are even on campus.”
Amanda Cipollo, junior finance major, is a resident assistant on campus this semester. She expressed how it has felt very different than previous years as “there are less people and it is much quieter than usual.” Cipollo said, “You just have to be cautious about it and limit who you see out on campus.”
Since there was a taste of virtual learning back in the spring semester, Cipollo felt she was very ready for this fall and knew what to expect. She also said “I think the professors have gotten a lot better at it than they were in the spring semester, which has been very helpful.”
Cipollo expressed that there is a lot more free time than what she has been used to in years past. She said, “It’s extremely hard to have a constant schedule each week. I think it’s week 14 and I still have no idea what I’m doing.”
Cipollo is also beginning to look for internships and she said “a lot of companies are really unsure about what they are doing about internships and most are remote.”
