The Trials and Tribulations of a Pandemic: From My Camera to Yours

The Trials and Tribulations of a Pandemic: From My Camera to Yours

Lara Promnitz-Hayashi

Keiai University

Having been “thrown to the wolves”, so to speak, due to the spread of Covid and the sudden introduction of ERT, teachers and students alike have had to navigate a steep learning curve. University freshman students are usually overwhelmed with the excitement of starting tertiary education, from the freedom of making their own choices, the freedom of simply choosing what clothes to wear, to choosing which circle to join and just making friends. When COVID hit, their excitement burst like a big old needle in a carnival balloon. Excitement turned to nervousness of the unknown and at times despair. However, by the end of the semester, this has changed to a sense of accomplishment and camaraderie. This pre-recorded Zoom video will share the trials and tribulations that freshman students at my university have faced since they announced that we were going online in April. Students (and I!) went from tears and nail-biting early on to smiles, laughs and victories (even the small victories are huge) by the end of the semester. Anecdotes of the challenges we all faced and how we overcame them, successes, failures (it's a whole new ballgame online) and looking to the future will be discussed. We have all had to learn to adapt to this “new normal” and by sharing our own experiences, warts and all, we can hopefully gain wider insight and new ideas moving into the second semester, whether it be online or face-to-face.