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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023

tuftsdaily.com

Transitioning to college life from a pandemic high school experience

by Ella Sanders

Assistant Features Editor

Members of Tufts’ Class of 2026 were high school sophomores when the COVID-19 pandemic left the educational world scrambling to find new ways to teach. The class has just concluded their first semester of college, which for many students also marks the first return to regular school life since the pandemic.

For first-year Kaitlin Aquilino, the transition from high school to college was initially rough.

“During the pandemic, you were given a lot of opportunities to do things over because situations were different for everyone,” Aquilino said. “I think it’s been a little bit harder trying to switch from online to offline again … and get used to quizzes and exams here.”

In high school, Aquilino faced challenges with the virtual learning models that originated from the pandemic.

“There were some lectures where I would just space out completely, and I would not know what was going on,” Aquilino said. “I think [high school teachers] made courses a little bit easier, and the classes more forgiving, [but] that [has] not really transferred [to] college [that] much, … so I think [the pandemic] has impacted learning.”

At Tufts, Kirsten Behling, the associate dean of the Student Accessibility and Academic Resource Center, noticed a significant increase in students’ utilization of the center’s offerings this year.

“Students are accessing these resources throughout the semester, which is a bit different than in the past when we saw our highest utilization of the resources around midterms and finals,” Behling wrote in an email to the Daily. “Broadly, we have seen some students challenged by the return to the in-class experience and in the workload associated with their courses.”

The pandemic challenged colleges to adapt to a new virtual environment and the changing student needs that came along with that. For the StARR Center, these new conditions served as an opportunity to alter their academic support models.

“Based on student need, we have increased our tutoring and study group sessions and added flexibility in the format of appointments (in-person and online),” Behling wrote. “We are supporting many first years as they navigate the demands of attending class in-person, taking an exam, or writing a paper for the first time in more than two years.”

For first-year student and Tufts Community Union Senator Caroline Spahr, the transition to college was unexpected.

“My older high school friends … transitioned [into college] during the pandemic [and] that was really rough for them, so I was kind of expecting a lot worse,” Spahr said. “In comparison to them, it’s been a lot smoother [and] … a lot easier than I thought it would be.”

Spahr attributes her quick adjustment to college to her experience of moving from the suburbs of Pittsburgh to central Pennsylvania in middle school.

“I still remember what it was like to totally move and uproot my life and move it somewhere else,” Spahr said.

Spahr credited the skills she was forced to acquire from this move as what has helped her adapt to college life.

“I was definitely not grateful at the time, but looking back … it definitely was a good experience to have,” Spahr said.

For many students across the country, the pandemic not only altered their physical learning environments, but also placed limits on the content of their classes. Spahr took AP Biology during the pandemic and noted the absence of labs. Missing out on hands-on learning experiences made it more challenging for Spahr to apply and engage with course material.

In addition to academics, Spahr also missed out on her high school’s culture club and the events the club would have typically run throughout the year. Shortly after coming to Tufts, Spahr jumped at the opportunity to become involved with the in-person clubs and activities offered on campus.

“I definitely got more involved in a bunch of different things that I wasn’t involved in [during] high school. I was not a member of any student government [or] treasury … and now that is kind of like my life here,” Spahr said. “It’s [been] an opportunity to branch out and actually get hands-on experience [with extracurriculars].”

According to Spahr, the TCU Senate is currently working on a couple of projects to aid first-years in their transition to Tufts. TCU Senator Jose Armando is focusing on improving orientation week so students can better connect with each other and begin to develop a sense of belonging on campus. TCU Senator Donovan Sanders is working to improve the pre-major advisor assignments for students after observing that many first-years were matched with pre-major advisors outside of their departments of interested departments.

Amid the impacts of COVID19 on school life, there was also a decline in student mental health levels during the worst of the pandemic. Julie Jampel, the director of training for Tufts Counseling and Mental Health Services, explained that these effects continue to take a toll on student well-being.

“We always have … first-year students who come in because it’s a difficult adjustment,” Jampel said. “I think the pandemic has added a big layer to that. … There’s a very big range [of students seeking CMHS services], but I think it’s safe to say that the pandemic is still there and … still a motivator for seeking mental health treatment.”

During the pandemic, CMHS responded by creating virtual counseling sessions and student support workshops. This year, they are renewing their in-person appointments while keeping their virtual sessions. Jampel believes that virtual sessions allow for more hesitant students to reach out to CMHS while also facilitating access for students who may not feel like leaving their rooms.

“We’ve implemented online scheduling for new appointments, which is something students have been asking for a long time,” Jampel said. “The pandemic has shaped our readiness to do that because a lot was online already. … The priority has always been to try to reach and help as many students as we can; that hasn’t changed. The specifics of how we might do that is what is changed.”

Erin Seaton, the associate chair of Tufts’ education department, teaches two undergraduate courses: School-Based Mental Health as well as Identities in Education. Seaton has observed several common mental health threads that students have generally faced over the pandemic.

“[As] somebody who spends a lot of time thinking about student mental health, other people have joined me in that conversation in ways that never happened,” Seaton said. “I think others have really become attentive to how much mental health and well-being is critical for students’ academic success [and] their experience on a college campus. … I think for students, too, there’s a greater openness to talk about health and well-being.”

During the pandemic, the disparities between students became more apparent with virtual instruction. Students who had other responsibilities at home or did not have a quiet space to learn faced additional challenges when courses suddenly moved into a virtual environment. Moreover, Seaton noted that along with the transition into a global health pandemic, the world experienced a racial injustice pandemic.

“Students struggled through … a global health [crisis] and — in the U.S. — a real kind of racial trauma,” Seaton said. “That’s something to hold on to and process and remember … [particularly] what skills and ways students coped and how we paid attention to how important community is. … The simultaneous piece of a racial reckoning in our country weighed heavily on the mental health of students of color. I think that is continuing as a perpetuated harm and not addressed at Tufts with the kind of depth and thought and care that we need to have.”

During the height of the pandemic, Seaton utilized critical spanning groups, which were smaller breakout room groups within the class, as a way to encourage student bonding within a virtual environment.

“There’s something very intimate about being in those spaces together, and so that’s actually something that I’ve continued even though we’re back in person,” Seaton said. “That idea that we really have to work hard to create a sense of community — that’s important to be thinking about.”

As classes recommence normally, schools and universities must make another transition back to in-person learning.

“Particularly in K-12 education, there’s been a push to go back to the way things were, which was never a system or structure that was working to begin with, and [it] was highly inequitable,” Seaton said. “Let’s think more holistically about what students need when they walk into a classroom.”

As the education system continues to cope and evolve with the pandemic, Seaton has observed a renewed sense of desire for connection among Tufts students this year.

“I’ve never been in a space where students were so happy to be together, and that sense of community and what it meant to just be together was such a joyful space,” Seaton said.

Carmichael Hall, a first-year residence hall, is pictured on Oct. 18, 2020.

EMMA BOERSMA / THE TUFTS DAILY

by Vedant Modi

Assistant Features Editor

A long weekend falling right at the end of midterms seemed like a great opportunity to unwind — perhaps to boot up a video game, watch movies or just sleep in. For this past Veterans Day, though, I had a plan.

Over an intense 40-hour period, I traveled to Montauk Point on Long Island, N.Y., where I visited a historic lighthouse, found a special seltzer water at a grocery store and then squeezed in a few hours in Manhattan.

This trip was designed to be my personal lighthouse tour. Ever since coming to Tufts, I had been fascinated with the idea of lighthouses. They are a stark, magnificent landmark of the typical New England shoreline. I had always loved expansive coasts, and a tower filled with rich history and intricate construction enhanced the appeal.

Wishing to leverage the convenient transportation that is so prevalent in New England, I was eager to take a Zipcar to Montauk and then ride the Amtrak train back to Medford. Driving would enable me to explore freely on the way to Montauk, and the Amtrak would be a relaxing way to return. Moreover, I decided to rent an extremely cheap Airbnb in Queens that would allow me to spend the night in the area then go to Manhattan the next day.

The day started early — at around 5:30 a.m. — when I woke up about an hour before I planned to. My enthusiasm and lack of fatigue were a good sign to me. Each time this mindset emerges, I am assured that the day will be an adventurous one.

The first stop of my trip was The Fresh Market in Avon, Conn. This is where I knew I could find Rambler Sparkling Water, a water brand from my home state of Texas. I had discovered the company this past spring at a grocery store in my hometown, and I had gotten their attention on Instagram by aggressively tagging them in my social media posts. Then in October, I visited their small office in Austin, Texas where I got to meet all the employees. There, the founder told me about a grocery store that supplied Rambler Sparkling Water — The Fresh Market in Avon. It was an hour out of the way on my journey to Montauk but well worth it. At the store, I found the water immediately and went to buy it. I told the cashier about my story with this water, then we sat and tried it together — the perks of arriving at the store so early.

Then, the long haul drive began, which took five hours, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The drive to Montauk did not feel long at first. I prepared at least six hours of tech podcasts and a 24-hour music playlist, which entertained me until I reached the start of Long Island.

Long Island, it turns out, was a lot longer than I anticipated when making cursory plans the day before. At least 2 ½ hours of the trip involved traversing those 118 miles to the tip of the island. I was very excited by the landmarks, though. Seeing signs for locations I had heard so much about, like the Hamptons, or seeing Manhattan across the East River was so exciting, for I had never been so close to these iconic sites on my own. I found myself feeling accomplished for having been able to generate the impromptu self-motivation to go on this trip.

Eventually, I reached Montauk. The first thing I did was marvel at the Montauk Point Lighthouse; after all, this was the main attraction that drew me there. As with every vacation I had taken the past year, I took some drone footage of the area.

Afterwards, I went to the museum inside the lighthouse and looked at the artifacts, which displayed the storied past of the Montauk lighthouse, dating back to 1792. I’d be remiss if I didn’t go up to the top as well.

At the top, I met Dan, a member of the Montauk Historical Society, who seemed to treasure introducing visitors to the lighthouse. We talked about the lights in the structure, and he explained to me how the staircase in the lighthouse had to be torn down in order to change the Fresnel lens that directs light out towards the sea. We chatted about my drive from Medford that morning and the Boston Light, which, in Dan’s opinion, was a lighthouse inferior to this one in Montauk.

Leaving Montauk a little after sunset, I needed dinner, which, once again, involved meeting a new person. I went to a marina in search of food but only found a tackle salesman and his trailer, as the nearby restaurant was closed for the season. He was so curious as to why I was there, since I was his fourth visitor that day and the only one he didn’t know. He recommended a great local diner — The Point — where I had my first real meal of the day, and it was the best Philly cheesesteak I have ever had. Sitting in this diner showed me that “small-town America” felt the same in Texas, my home, and here in New York.

At this point, I had to drive back up Long Island to my Airbnb, during which I planned out the rest of my evening. When I arrived at my Airbnb in Queens, I realized that I was only 45 minutes away from Manhattan by subway, and decided I would be foolish not to take advantage of this change to be a typical New York City tourist.

I spent the evening in Times Square, went to the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue and visited the Plaza Hotel. At the Plaza Hotel, I asked the security guard if this was the hotel that famously featured in “Home Alone 2” (1992), after which he guided me through all the set pieces from the movie in the lobby. The next day, I worked my way through various museums, parks, monuments and stores of Manhattan before returning to Tufts that evening.

Before this trip, I wasn’t truly aware of the positive impact that one person can have, even in a seemingly insignificant or fleeting interaction. I would have not come to understand this if I had not propelled myself to plan this trip and had the courage to execute it.

By taking a solo trip, I learned that people are usually open to having conversations with strangers and that such positive interactions can brighten their day as well as yours.

COURTESY VEDANT MODI

Montauk Point Lighthouse is pictured.