Sept. 17, 2020 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo
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 Abby Martinez, a student in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science.
Q: Are you on campus?
A: I am on campus!
Q: What made you decide to be on campus?
A: Since it is my freshman year, I thought it’d would be nice to explore campus, get to know more people, and be involved!
Q: What challenges have you found in navigating campus?
A: I haven’t found any. It’s been easy! The buses are always there so I haven’t encountered any problems at all.
Q: What challenges are you discovering with remote classes?
A: With remote classes, expectations are looking a little bit different. Whether it is asynchronous or synchronous learning, having a mix of both is confusing for me. I realize that I am behind in some of my classes when it comes to readings, so I’ve been struggling with that.
Q: Tell me what you think about the COVID testing process. Has it been easy to find a testing site?
A: I think the process is great! It’s super quick and you don’t have to wait long for your results, so that is definitely a bonus. It has been easy finding a testing site, there’s one not so far from where I am staying at!
Q: What are the differences between your high school remote learning experience, and here at Illinois?
A: When I was in high school, everything was asynchronous learning. Here at Illinois, I have a mix of both. Every one of my instructors have been pretty specific with what they are expecting from us, and the assignments are not confusing at all!
Editor’s note:
To reach Vince Lara-Cinisomo, email vinlara@illinois.edu.
