☹Paisly McConnell, guest columnist

When my grandma asked me to write an article about how the Corona Virus affected my college experience, I did not know what four-letter word I should use—HELP. One day I was sitting in class with my friends, living my best life, and the next, I was ugly crying to my mom about having to take lab finals online. What just happened?!?!? 

For those of you who do not know, this was my Freshman year at Grand Canyon University (GCU) in Phoenix, Arizona. Luckily for me, GCU has a sizable online presence, so they were much more prepared than other universities to switch from on-campus classes to online. Although the transition was a big adjustment because I missed campus life, in-person lectures, and access to 24-7 tutoring, my experience was better than some of my peers who did not have online options. They were sent home for summer when their school deemed the semester completed when the virus caused them to shut down at Spring Break. They missed half a semester of classes.  I also have friends who struggled through finishing classes and finals with no further instruction or lectures after campus’ closed.  

As much as students were unprepared for Covid-19, so were colleges. I am hopeful this upcoming semester will go smoother. I know several colleges have pushed back start dates this fall, implemented hybrid classes with online and in-person lectures, or transferred to online until the second semester. As for me, GCU has pushed back the class start date plus the dorm move-in date until late September. They are also doing a mixture of online and in-person classes. Many prerequisites and under 300 level classes are online only. If a class is on campus, it is a hybrid of online and in-person. Instead of going to class three times per week, I may have online twice a week and in-person once a week. Confusing, right?

Although the Corona Virus has put a pause on life, it has not been all bad. I have had the opportunity to spend more time with my family, friends, and dog, completed three online summer classes, and got my money’s worth out of Netflix. 

I am still looking forward to going back to school, although it will probably be a very different experience than last year. I am glad to be only a sophomore with a few more fun (and educational 😊) years ahead of me.  

Paisly is the daughter of Trina and Travis McConnell and the sister to Ryder. A graduate of Sterling High School, she is currently a sophomore at GCU, majoring in Exercise and Nutritional Science. 

Until the next time: Live while you live