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SHORTLY AFTER THE SPRING 2020 SEMESTER began, we started hearing about a new virus strain in Asia. Then reports of cases began appearing in the United States. By March 11, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic and our world suddenly changed.
DARK CLOUDS PART FOR UNEXPECTED
Dowah
8 I NCCU NOW I FALL 2020
Students and faculty who had left for spring break the previous weekend were instructed that the University of North Carolina System would transition to all-online courses. Stay-at-home orders were then issued by the governor. Throughout all the changes, NCCU professors pushed ahead to amend their coursework for virtual learning environments. Students, many of whom were now living back at home with their parents, began taking classes online. The 2020 graduates would be unable to attend an in-person graduation, and it seemed an unsettling end to what started as a regular semester. Yet throughout the last few months, the Eagles of NCCU have consistently risen to the challenges imposed by the pandemic and looked for ways to help themselves and others. As communications student Siegee Dowah, an intern for WRAL, wrote in an April blog post: “I've been thinking about all the things I could do while I'm at home during this time. I'll probably teach myself how to use other Adobe applications or catch up on some shows I told myself I would watch a few months ago. Either way I don't see all of this ‘lockdown’ stuff as a bad thing.”
Students and professors shared tips for distance teaching, learning and studying. The university’s Division of Extended Studies and Department of Information Technology Services pulled out all the stops to make sure educational materials, lesson plans and lines of communication were available so that the Spring 2020 semester could be completed successfully. And it was. In May, his graduation month, senior Chance Kennedy posted a dance video in his graduation gown. Its playful exuberance cheered up the nation as the clip went viral, claiming spots on popular outlets such as “Good Morning America” and BET.
