Whether you are on campus or off campus, go to Rockhurst or do not go to Rockhurst, live in Kansas City or do not live in Kansas City – chances are, you have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic whether you have fallen victim to the virus or not.

COVID-19 is such an aggressive virus which has put a hold on many people’s lives all throughout the globe. For many students, it has forced classes to transition to virtual learning that most are not used to.

RU students and roommates, Reagan Klehr, Kat Langenfeld, Emily Rieske, Grace Tournoy, and Shelby Winkelman explain how COVID-19 hit their home in Kansas City and affected their daily lives.

Klehr explains, “I was the only one who did not personally have COVID, but it was pretty overwhelming when all my roommates had contracted the virus and I still had to quarantine. However, I was lucky enough to be able to go to my home in Lees Summit to quarantine so that I could stay away from the other girls. Being a nursing student, it was difficult to not be in person and get the hands-on experience and be in the testing environment I was so used to.”

Tournoy also explained how stressful it was for her as a nursing student like Klehr. It was hard to keep up since nursing is such a fast-paced major.

Langenfeld, Rieske, Tournoy and Winkelman had all been directly infected with COVID-19 but were fortunate enough to recover smoothly without any severe or lingering symptoms.

“It has been stressful having so many of my classes online due to COVID. School has always been in person, so having to switch it up has been a struggle,” says Langenfeld, “having to do schoolwork at home made it hard to find a balance between needing to get work done and wanting to relax. The home environment and the school environment are so different, so it was difficult to feel motivated at times.”

The transition to virtual learning was something we all had to adapt to, whether we were prepared for it or not. It is hard for any student to have such a drastic change in their usual learning environment.

Rieske and Winkelman went on to explain how they began to fall behind in their academics as well as sports due to their immediate quarantine after testing positive for COVID. The virus took a toll on them both as Rieske says, “having to keep up with schoolwork was not fun when you did not want to leave your bed due to the virus.”

It is no secret this virus has made its appearance here on campus, eight months later it is still present, affecting all our lives. Even though people have adjusted their lifestyles to cope with the virus, we all look forward to when quarantining and social distancing are in the past.

Edited by Micaela Gutierrez