Students sit socially distanced in the revamped CUB Ballroom (Photo Mary Frasier/The Gettysburgian)
By Phoebe Doscher, Magazine Editor
At this time last year, first-year students had just reached the midpoint of their second semesters at Gettysburg. They had begun immersing themselves in college life by meeting friends, discovering areas of interest for possible majors, and getting engaged in activities.
In other words, when the pandemic hit and the college transitioned to remote instruction for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester, the class of 2023 was just getting started. A year later, they are approaching the halfway mark of their college careers, and many have hardly been back on campus since last spring after being sent home again this past fall.
One such sophomore is psychology major Leah Millard ’23, who intends to pursue a career in research. She feels set back by the pandemic: “This past year has made it seem like my future ambitions were going to be impossible,” she said. “I’ve lost so much lab experience and research opportunities—that makes it difficult to get internships now, and will affect graduate school later.”
The timeline for course requirements and completing in-person labs, as Millard mentioned, has shifted for these sophomores. They had not prepared for most of their experience thus far to be interrupted. Ziv Carmi ’23, who is currently studying remotely, also revamped his plans for the rest of his time at Gettysburg.
“We all desperately want to return to normal, whatever that now means, to make up for the loss that we have had to incur from being away from campus.” – Ethan Wilt ’23
“Until a few months ago, I had intended to graduate within three and a half years to keep the costs down and begin graduate school earlier. I am now, however, very seriously considering and most likely going to take that final spring semester so I can have another chance to make up for the time lost due to COVID,” he said.
Students like Carmi and Nicole Parisi ’23 have taken this interruption to their college experience as a sign to take full advantage of the time they get on campus. While opportunities are different, such as performances for theatre arts major Parisi, these offerings are some of the only chances left to continue pursuing their interests in college.
Although Parisi is able to perform onstage this spring, her performance experience was cut short in the fall 2020 semester. “Within the theatre arts department last semester, I was working on two projects that I was not able to continue after being sent home,” she said. “Now that I’m back on campus, I am trying to savor every moment of it.”
Some of the changes to campus life include a mask mandate and daily Symptom Tracker (Photo Mary Frasier/The Gettysburgian)
Aside from lost and strained opportunities to pursue extracurriculars and courses, sophomore students have also had less than a year at Gettysburg to immerse fully in the community, and have found it harder to forge connections with faculty and staff and grow closer with fellow students.
“Although the pandemic has made it a little harder to feel as connected to the Gettysburg community, the professors and administrators have done their best to make us feel welcomed and supported by Gettysburg,” Kay Brackett ’23 said.
Current first-year students have also dealt with a similar loss when it comes to their normal college experiences; despite being able to stay on campus for the fall 2020 semester after the campus was de-densified, this class was the only one not allowed to return for the spring.
“Starting college during a pandemic has been a struggle,” Anthony Sanchez ’24 said. “My mind likes to wander during in-person classes, and even more so during online classes. Professors, however, have been lenient and very helpful, which has helped me transition from high school to college. So, I feel like the advantages and disadvantages of starting college during the pandemic are balanced.”
Sophomore students have yet to experience campus life as normal for a full academic year, whether or not they have been allowed to remain on campus. Ethan Wilt ’23, an RA, stayed on campus in the fall, but understands the frustration behind interruptions to the Gettysburg experience.
“I have tried to keep a sense of normalcy by staying involved in activities and with people like I did before the pandemic, but that does not adequately fill the void felt during these times,” Wilt said. “We all desperately want to return to normal, whatever that now means, to make up for the loss that we have had to incur from being away from campus.”
This article appeared on page 9 of the March 16, 2021 edition of The Gettysburgian’s magazine.
