COURTESY OF WSU
for college students by college students Wayne State Medical students gather for brunch.
An Unconventional Semester in Review COVID challenges cultivate resiliency and adaptability.
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his past semester, and year, has been unconventional to say the very least. At the start of the fall 2021 semester, I expressed my excitement and anticipation to return to a semi-normal college experience at Wayne State University, with a fresh appreciation for the little moments in life that make days so sweet. Now that I am beginning a new semester yet Loren Safta again, I thought it prudent jewish@edu to check in with myself and writer reflect on the ups and downs,
achievements and tribulations, and emotions of the last semester. This past semester was unlike anything I had experienced before. At the beginning of the fall semester, I looked forward to my return to campus, to spending time with my fellow students in the Hillel Lounge, studying in the library and simply walking to and from on campus. I was well aware of the multiple safety precautions implemented by Wayne State in order to keep the student populace safe from the still raging pandemic. Masks were and still are required in all indoor on-cam-
pus buildings, and a vaccine mandate was implemented to ensure that students would be well protected from contagion. Because of these precautions, I was optimistic, knowing I could safely revel in the little moments I had missed so much. Initially, all went well according to this hopeful plan! I was greatly enjoying my newfound freedoms and opportunities on campus. My journey toward increased independence, which had stalled when I abruptly had to move home my freshman year of college, began again. I was mindful of the public health protections implemented by wearing my mask whenever I was indoors and ensuring that all Jewish Student Organization (JSO) events my board and I organized over the course of the semester followed the proper safety guidelines. When I could, I got my COVID vaccine booster shot. However, nothing could compare to the feeling of walking into a classroom, sitting down at a desk, and taking notes during an in-person class for the first time in a year and a half. It suddenly felt like such a privilege to be able to ask my professor questions without the barrier of a Zoom screen and to listen to the boisterous discussions generated by my peers without the ambient buzz of a computer speaker. This was the moment I savored most, the ability to just participate in an in-person class, and forge new friendships and relationships with my classmates and professors. It is something I will never again take for granted in my final two semesters at Wayne State.
COURTESY OF WSU
Wayne State Jewish Student Organization at their virtual Chanukkah party December 2021.
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FEBRUARY 10 • 2022
