By Juliette Bolle-Leon
Five years ago, students nationwide heard their classes were cancelled for two weeks. Those two weeks turned into months of isolation, then years of their childhood, blinked away.
Grand Rapids Community College has students ranging from fresh out of high school to adults in their 50s, with everyone feeling the impacts of COVID-19 and quarantine in their own ways. Some students and faculty were business owners, while others were in their most important years for socializing.
The high school students who enrolled at GRCC this year immediately after high school graduation were beginning their freshman year of high school at the peak of quarantine. Although the transition from middle school to high school is a rite of passage for students, for many the beginning of high school was blurred by a webcam.
Psychology major Sumayah Hanson, 18, shared the story many students her age may relate to.
“At first I was like, ‘Oh, this is great, no school!’ But then, hearing about all of the deaths and how much it was affecting people’s lives,” she said.
Without the built-in routine of school, or the ability to explore the world, what is a teenager like Hanson to do?
“I’d kinda just, like, wake up at odd times of the day, eat some food, play video games,” Hanson admitted.
Hanson was able to start school, albeit without physical interaction. Her classes were held online. Without pressure or schedule, she couldn’t focus. Without the focus she needed, she couldn’t succeed.
“I didn’t do any of my work like that, so my GPA was bad. … I definitely think (school being online) aided in me being unmotivated to do anything,” Hanson admits.
“I was on TikTok like all day,” Kylie Walkington, another 18-year-old student, shared. “I used to be a straight-A student.”
Focus wasn’t the only personality piece affected. Social anxiety surged, and many people still feel the effect in their lives today. Luca Smith, 19, discussed her personal struggles with socializing even now.
“Things have definitely changed, and people are more reserved to themselves,” Smith said. “My mental health went downhill, and now I’m more anti-social than when it started.”
Hearing of COVID-19 prior to the pandemic put life into perspective for many. Olivia Pontarelli, a nursing major from Grand Haven, first heard about COVID-19 from her friend’s mom, a nurse feeling the initial impacts.
“When we heard things were shutting down, I thought it wasn’t real,” said Pontarelli.
But things weren’t entirely negative for her. She shared a story of her father accidentally ordering 30 boxes of toilet paper. However, his loss soon became a neighborhood gain. Pontarelli’s father began donating toiletries and makeshift vodka-aloe hand sanitizer to anyone willing to take them off his hands. Pontarelli grew close with her coworkers at Russ’ Restaurant, and even picked up baking.
“For me, the pandemic was amazing… I’d bake banana bread, muffins, just bread in general,” Pontarelli said.
Bret Devries, a 20-year-old student, knew about COVID-19 from his high-school journalism class. Still, he was skeptical it would ever reach America.
“It really made me rethink who I was, to become a better person,” Devries said.
The owner of Patatas and GRCC’s Subway, Avery Sevore, is skeptical COVID-19 was even real, much like some Americans even after the pandemic. Patatas is one of the only restaurants on GRCC’s main campus. As a small business owner, Sevore felt the full weight of COVID-19, as it closed down the restaurant which resides in RJF’s basement.
“I didn’t think (the pandemic) was going to go on as long as it did,” Sevore said. “Gretchen kept saying, … ‘It’s just going to be three months.’ … But it wasn’t three months, it was 18 months.”
While Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued several stay-at-home orders to try to minimize the spread of the deadly virus, Sevore felt his personal liberties were disregarded. He said he felt like he was “held hostage” by the social distancing.
“I definitely think what we did was (an overreaction),” he said. “…We first jumped on (social distancing guidelines) because we feared it, then a lot of people made a lot of money, and a lot of people gained a lot of control. I think that’s probably when I realized (COVID-19) was just a sham. … Fauci was the biggest liar.”
The COVID-19 vaccine was distributed nationwide by December 2020 via FDA emergency use authorization. This authorization, credited to Dr. Anthony Fauci, saved millions of lives and alleviated COVID-19 symptoms and diagnoses, allowing for sooner socializing and escape from the pandemic. COVID-19 killed roughly 45,000 people in Michigan alone, according to the Michigan government website.
Despite the hasty efforts for vaccines to be made, many Americans are skeptical to this day. In a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, roughly 20% of Americans nationwide believe to some extent COVID-19 was planned in some form. It is important to note that COVID-19 is a real illness that killed ambiguously, ending the lives of nearly 15 million people between 2020 and 2021, according to the World Health Organization.
Many didn’t risk the illness. Margaret Maat, 58, is an immunocompromised student at GRCC. Maat is a small business owner also, owning and managing their own tattoo parlor in Grand Rapids. Being disabled, Maat was forced to comply with unaccommodating family members during quarantine.
“I had a friend that was homeless that would bring me extra food because I couldn’t leave,” they said. “The farmers’ market wasn’t that far, so I would walk over there if I felt well enough.”
The isolation didn’t affect Maat as much as others, though.
“…The shutdown happened, and I felt like, wow, now everybody knows how I felt becoming isolated, you know? Because I already had practice at this, being stuck at home,” Maat said.
COVID-19 affected everyone in harrowing ways. The effect is still felt today, five years later. Through fears of social interactions, diminishing GPAs and increased screen times, COVID-19 has impacted everyone internationally in many different ways.
Collegiate reporters Marc Stoufer III, Faith Ball, Lamar Reevers and Marie-Ange Betz contributed to this article.
