Freshman Brooklyn Clough talks about campus life during COVID-19
Freshmen are entering college in a unique environment, and that includes students in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois. The AHS communications staff spoke with new AHS students about campus life, why they decided to come to campus—or stay home—and how COVID-19 is changing their expectations. Today, we speak with Brooklyn Clough, a student in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science.
Q: Are you on campus?
A: I am on campus this semester because even though all of my classes are digital, I believed being on campus would give me the motivation I needed for my classes that I wouldn't be able to find at home. Also, I wanted the experience; it is only my freshman year so I truly don't know what I am missing with COVID-19 regulations.
Q: What challenges have you found in navigating campus?
A: Since all of my classes are digital, I don't travel much on campus, but I do struggle with the bus system. Long story short, I was trying to head to my dorm and ended up in downtown Urbana.
Q: What challenges are you discovering with remote classes?
A: Digital classes have been a complete internal battle because many of my classes are asynchronous as well; So I must organize my schedule on my own and try to remember all of my due dates for different courses.
Q: Tell me what you think about the COVID testing process. Has it been easy to find a testing site?
A: Testing has been painless since I live in Nugent, which is connected to the SDRP (Student Dining and Residential Programs) where a testing center is. I also surprisingly have started getting better at finishing the testing faster, since I have been doing it for a while.
Q: What are the differences between your high school remote learning experience, and here at Illinois?
A: My high school remote learning was a lot less motivated than here at Illinois. I did take a remote class in Fall 2019, which was me cramming at the last minute before due dates and after the school went completely digital in spring 2020. I put in little effort because our grades couldn't be negatively affected if we showed active participation. Here at Illinois, these classes matter and are important; However, it is quite similar in that I have few check-ins and mostly work is on my own.