The Rebirth of College Students

Over three years ago, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. UT, along with nearly every educational institute in the United States of America, sent its students home following spring break, with no idea when life would return back to normal.

For many, it felt like life stopped. Now, in 2023, life has opened up again and most university classes have resumed in person. Today, countless college students are left on their own to find a sense of normalcy in a post-shutdown world.

For many UT students, a significant part of their college career has been infringed upon by COVID-19.

Sophomore Lilly Highfill shared how the pandemic impacted her transition from high school into college.

Highfill’s experience of loneliness being in college during the pandemic is widely shared. In the beginning, the shutdown felt jarring; the state of the world, and education, became completely virtual, and in turn, startlingly lonely. Living in a time such as the past few years has made many people change their career wishes and life goals.

Without a doubt, it’s a relief that most of what closed in the heat of the pandemic has now reopened. UT certainly went through its own changes throughout and post-shutdown.

Dr. Marisa Higgins, lecturer in the Department of English, recalled how, “Rebirth might be an apt way to describe it, or perhaps a sense of rebuilding or reorientation. UT, like any institution, is trying to find out how to cater to incoming students, and that does require – for better or for worse – a type of rebirth.”

Educators and students alike have all had to figure things out as time has progressed past the introduction of COVID-19.

“Current Gen Z college students do have a sense of justice and a compassion that I haven’t seen in previous years,” Dr. Higgins said.

While going through college post-shutdown certainly has its difficulties, some aspects of student life may have changed for the better.

Dr. Katherine J. Wheeler, lecturer and assistant professor in the School of Architecture, saw firsthand the effects of the pandemic on her students; many seemed to have increased anxiety levels and felt isolated from their peers.

When looking at the state of college and student culture now, it can be difficult to communicate with one another. After a couple of years of seeing classmates only through a screen, submitting all assignments online and trying to figure life out in a situation no one had faced before, many things are significantly different from how they used to be.

Even the little things can make a difference, especially on a campus as big as UT. Tailgating with family and friends before a home football game and nearly the entire student body spending the first warm day of spring basking in the sun are just two of the many little things that can bring so much joy after a time period of so much change.

These things are not only what bring us together as Volunteers, but what relates us to other people.

“I build more cushions into the syllabus than I did before … [I’m] trying to be more aware of students’ anxiety,” Wheeler said.

With educators like Dr. Higgins and Dr. Wheeler who try to give more leniency and understanding to their students because of the impact they’ve seen the pandemic leave on the world, we can be certain that, at least at UT, an academic rebirth has begun.