Class of 2023, last pre-COVID-19 class, reflects on pandemic

ical student, I was not able to shadow or get clinical experience, so that stressed me out because I felt like I was going to be at huge disadvantage later on in my journey towards medicine.”

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the irrational fear of the thirteenth day in a month when it falls on a Friday.

March 13, 2020 fell on a Friday. How spooky.

The atmosphere at UT that day was a mix of apprehension and enthusiasm. It was the last day of classes before spring break, and many people were packing up to go home or to long-awaited vacations. Some had even already left campus days before to jumpstart their break, bailing on classes – consequences be damned.

Trouble was on the horizon, however. Two days prior, university administration had announced that in-person classes would be temporarily suspended after spring break. The decision was made to limit the spread of the then relatively new COVID-19 disease. At the time, none of the campuses in the UT System had reported a case of coronavirus, and it was anticipated that students would return some time in April.

That same day, the World Health Organization declared that the spread of the coronavirus had become a pandemic. Despite these omens, many students could not fathom not returning to campus after break.

“It never crossed my mind,” senior English major Cecilia Foust said. “I was stunned we were even getting the time off that we originally got.”

Eva Karnowski, a senior nursing student and SGA Alumni Coordinator, echoed the sentiment.

“(The thought) hadn’t hit me yet when we left for spring break,” Karnowski said. Others, however, already had a hunch something was wrong.

“Right before we left for – what was announced to be a lengthened – spring break, I remember telling one of my friends something like ‘Realistically we aren’t coming back. There’s already a confirmed case here in Knox County,’” senior journalism major Seth Reynolds said. “Sadly, I was right.”

Alissa Nam, who will be graduating with a degree in neuroscience, was already familiar with the disease. The majority of her family lives in South Korea, where COVID-19 was already spreading rapidly. With this experience, she says she did surmise campus closing down, although she could not have predicted how long it would be before the return to inperson classes.

“Considering the rate at which the virus was spreading, I had an inkling that we would be stuck at home for a while,” Nam said. “However, I did not expect to spend two years of my undergraduate career at home on Zoom.”

That “while” turned into the rest of the semester. On March 16, 2020, the university announced that classes would remain online and all graduation ceremonies were canceled. The world – the small slice of it that was UT campus – was turned upside-down overnight. It was a time of immense fear and confusion.

“I think we all – or at least the people that I knew – expected a brief two-week shutdown, a month at the most, before things got ‘back to normal,’” Foust said. “Then that obviously never happened – it felt like a perpetual waiting game, where we didn’t get any answers on what to expect or what the gameplan was.”

At first, many students celebrated classes migrating online. The change was perceived as making coursework easier and less stressful. As time went on, it turned out to be more nightmare than bliss. Without the opportunity to pursue hands-on training, students in certain fields said they felt like they missed out on crucial parts of their education.

“All the clinics and hospitals had shut down, so there was nothing I could do to gain experience,” Nam said. “As a pre-med-

To supplement this gap, some enterprising students got creative and did what they could at home to gain a measure of experience. It also had the benefit of alleviating boredom and maintaining relationships during isolation.

“As someone who wanted to go into video production, knowing that I’d miss out on at least a semester’s worth of in person learning really took a toll on me,” Reynolds said. “I actually started a ‘Recorder Relief Concert’ series on my Snapchat story, where I took requests and taught myself how to play a variety of different songs and posted them.”

“I like to think it helped to cheer my friends up a little bit.”

As the last class to experience campus before COVID-19 graduates and enters an uneasy future, they cannot help but mourn life before the pandemic and all they missed out during lockdown.

“One thing that I personally miss from pre-COVID days is the dorm life,” Nam said. “I miss hanging out with my friends and staying up late studying at study lounge at Brown or at Hodges.

“I’m still thankful that I got to experience normal college life for at least a full semester.”

While many aspects of life and society have returned to relative normalcy, there are lingering effects that still have not been shaken off and may never fully recover.

“I don’t know if that’s just me, or if it’s a widespread phenomenon. There’s a distinct increase in – I guess you might call it a nihilist attitude – that I’ve noticed among not only my peers, but people in general,” Foust said. “I think COVID scared a lot of us into realizing we’re not invincible and our world as we know it can so easily come to a grinding halt out of nowhere.”

“I don’t think there’s any real recovery of our pre-COVID attitude, knowing what we know now.”

As a commuter student her freshman year, Foust says the lockdown impacted her connection with the school.

“I go to school there, but it’s just a place to me, and I don’t harbor any special connection like it seems a lot of alumni do for their school,” she said. “I’m convinced that being away for two years played a major role in this perception on my end. I didn’t have the time to really ‘fall in love’ with campus.”

COVID-19 left a permanent mark on campus and its surrounding community. For the class of 2023, who had to contend with a pandemic as soon as they entered adulthood, those effects will be felt for the rest of their lives.

About the Photos

1. Australian rapper The Kid Laroi waves to his fans during a concert on April 5.

2. World Langauge organizations table on May 3.

3. Karoline Striplin (11) fights for a loose ball against a Georgia player on Jan. 15.

4. Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton steps on the court to shoot the ball during the ESPN College GameDay broadcast on Jan. 28.

5. Rickea Jackson (2) shoots a short jumper against Toledo at Thompson-Boling Arena. Monday March 20.

6. Students walk on Ped Walkway on the first day of Spring Semester.

7. Brenda Song talks being an Asian-American child actress on March 21.

8. A student rides a bike to create energy to make a smoothie on April 19.

9. Commit campiagn members await election results on April 5.

10. Nathan Leacock (85) celebrates a touchdown during the Orange and White game on April 15.

11. Rylie West (5) bats against South Carolina at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on May 7.

12. Jahmai Mashack (15) attempts a free throw during a NCAA tournament game against Duke on Mar. 18.

13. Brittany Broski talks about Internet fame on May 1.

14. Davy Crockett and Smokey pump up the crowd on April 15.

15. Josiah-Jordan James (30) looks to make a move against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament on March 9.

16. Vol Cheer performs at the men’s basketball game against Ole Miss on March 9.

17. A group of friends enjoys a game of Jenga on Feb. 15.

18. Members of the campus Christian ministry group Chi Alpha evangelize on Ped Walkway on March 23.

19. Esther Adeshina congratulates her team after their victory May 5.

20. ESPN’s Rece Davis interviews Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler (5) during the College Game Day broadcast on Jan 28.

21. Sinan the Squirrel and his owner attend the Orange and White Game on April 15.