By Michele Barletta

QU students, along with students all over the country, are now completing the spring semester online due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and this itself poses many challenges.

Thanks to the advancement in technology, students can consider themselves lucky to be able to continue their studies during a time like we’re experiencing now. There’s no doubt that years ago, transitioning into online classes and lectures would not have been possible.

Samuel Costa had an early end to his freshman year on campus, one that he certainly did not expect. Costa prefers the traditional in-class learning over online classes and says that he originally struggled to make the transition.

“I’m struggling to keep organized and to keep track of assignments,” Costa said via Google Meet. “I get a lot of emails from teachers everyday and they are not easy to keep track of.”

Nursing student, Abbey Moore is enjoying the extra time she gets to spend at home with her family, but says that she definitely misses being on campus.

“I do miss being in the classroom and being able to have that in-person interaction with my professors and classmates,” Moore said.

Although it’s out of anyone’s hands, Moore believes the timing of the transition to online classes couldn’t have been worse.

“This is arguably one of the most difficult times of the year with finals and projects and everything else piling up,” Moore said.

However, not all students are finding the transition difficult. Grant Higgins says although it is something different, it hasn’t been very difficult for him to make the transition.

“I actually enjoy online classes but we definitely lose out a lot of what makes QU fun,” Higgins said.

Both Higgins and Costa enjoy being able to work on their assignments in their own time and at their own pace, but that too comes with it’s own set of risks.

“I definitely struggle more with time management because I have so much more time on my hands,” Costa said. “At QU it was nice because every moment of the day had a certain thing I had to do. It was all laid out clearly and very easy to keep track of.”

Moore believes that by professors making use of resources like Google Meet and Zoom, it not only helps students understand the content better than a written document, but it also helps the students add some sense of routine to their day.

“I like having Google Meet’s because it forces me to plan my day around something,” Moore said.

It’s no secret that certain fields of study will be a lot more difficult to complete online than others. Moore believes that nursing students are certainly feeling the negative repercussions of the transition.

“Nursing is a very ‘hands on’ major with our clinicals every week, so it’s been hard not having that type of learning like usual,” Moore said.

Students are definitely feeling the effects of having to work in an environment that isn’t what they’re used to.

“We’re now held accountable to work in a different environment and do our studies without anyone there to help us,” Costa said.

Moore feels the same way and says that she misses the resources that were available to her on campus.

“At school, I love going to the library or SSC because it forces me to focus and I feel that I can’t get myself into the same mindset when I’m at home,” Moore said.

Higgins, Costa and Moore all believe that a key part to succeeding with online classes and staying on top of your work, is to get into a daily routine and set up some sort of schedule that helps you stay on track.