IN THIS T GETHER The UMass Boston community unites to help everyone cope with the pandemic. BY ELIS MULLINS AND VANESSA CHATTERLEY
The extraordinary toll taken by COVID-19—and the challenges posed by the measures needed to slow its spread—has called for extraordinary efforts to help people obtain basic needs and deal with feelings of sadness and isolation. The UMass Boston community stepped up to do its part to help. Students, staff, faculty, and alumni—the entire community—all went beyond the normal call of duty to make sure everyone gets through these trying times in the best possible shape. Here are a few of the inspiring things they did.
Suzanne Alkhatatbih ’22 (r) and her younger brother benefited from one of the 223 Chromebooks loaned to students who needed them for remote learning. Photo courtesy of Suzanne Alkhatatbih
“I take calculus, chemistry, and
Chromebook Drive Delivers Laptops to Students in Need
biology using this
After transitioning to remote learning, the university launched a Sponsor a Chromebook drive that provided 223 Chromebooks to loan to students without laptops and help them succeed in a remote learning environment. The initiative was greatly assisted by an $8,500 grant from the City of Boston and Mayor Marty Walsh.
Chromebook. If I did
For student Suzanne Alkhatatbih ’22, the benefit of the loaner Chromebook was immediate and powerful. “The Chromebook really helped me doing my classes and logging into Zoom,” she said in a thank-you video she made. “I used to have a hard time logging in and doing all my classwork since my laptop is broken. But this really helped me a lot. . . . And also my little brother here, he uses Zoom for school and he uses the Chromebook, as well.”
not have this, I would not be able to do any of my classwork.” —Raynise C. ’23
UMass Boston Fall 2020
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