COVID-19 Experiences of International Students

As COVID-19 began to spread throughout the world, schools all over the globe transitioned to remote learning. This unexpected change first startled students, and now after a month of online classes, most students have mixed feelings about the new style of learning. 

Some students, such as first year sophomore Nizar Khairy, are enjoying the online learning experience.

“I am enjoying my time away from physical classes since now we have more freedom of our schedules. The workload isn’t necessarily lighter, however, I could say that it is way more flexible. The online classes don’t consume as much of the day as physical classes did,” he said.

However, like many, he says that he is very bored of being home every day. “Quarantine is starting to get quite overwhelming; I am struggling to find things to do at home and I personally feel the need to socialize more than ever,” Khairy said.

For most of the students, remote learning has been difficult to adjust to. 

“I am having a difficult time adapting to online classes, especially with subjects I already struggle in. It’s just not the same as face-to-face classes, as the teachers are less available for us to ask them questions,” junior Jessica Huang from Shenzhen, China, said.

Seniors, on another hand, are devastated by how their high school experiences are coming to an end. With the uncertainty of the situation, the school has not yet announced if a graduation ceremony would be held. Prom, Diversity Day, and Mountain Day are all canceled. 

Senior Beyza Tumturk from Ankara, Turkey, had this to say about how her Senior year turned out: “I love my house and being at home in Turkey, but I wish my senior year hadn’t ended this way. As an international student, I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see most of my friends again and not knowing things would turn out this way, I didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye to them.”

It could be said that most students are unhappy with the new remote learning and not being able to go outside. However, health always comes first and we shouldn’t forget that things will go back to normal quicker if we take the necessary precautions. #StayHome